
Qass 
Book_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 




THE MAP OF ORONTIUS, SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 

From Nordenslcjold's "Facsimile Atlas" 



THE SEVENTH 
CONTINENT 

A HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY AND 
EXPLORATIONS OF ANTARCTICA 



HELEN S. WRIGHT 

AUTHOR OF "the GREAT WHITE NORTH," ETC. 
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 




ART1«V6RITATI 



BOSTON 

RICHARD G. BADGER 

THE GORHAM PRESS 



COPTRIGHT, 1918, BY RiCHABD G. BadGBR 



All Rights Reserved 



\4^ 



®Gi.A49990a 



Made in the United States of America 



The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A. 



JUL 29 I5i8 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. South Polar Pioneers 9 

II. Captain Cook's First Voyage to the Southern 

Sea 32 

III. Later Voyages of Captain Cook .... 50 

IV. Early American Enterprise in Antarctic 

Discovery 70 

V. South Polar Animals 92 

VI. The French Expedition Under Captain D'Ur- 

VILLE 112 

VII. The American Expedition Under Captain 

Wilkes 130 

VIII. The English Expedition Under Captain Ross 154 

IX. The Voyage of the Challenger .... 175 

X. An Important Dundee Whaling Expedition 195 

XI. The Belgian Scientific Expedition .... 218 

XII. Captain Scott's Explorations 240 

XIII. The German Expedition 263 

XIV. Lieutenant Shackleton's Voyage . . . . 288 
XV. Shackleton's Southern Journey .... 309 

XVI. Heroes of the Antarctic . . . . . . 328 

XVII. Explorers from Many Lands 343 

XVIII. The Australasian Expedition Under Sir 

Douglas Mawson 359 

XIX. Shackleton's Latest Antarctic Expedition 372 

Bibliography 379 

Index 383 

3 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

/ 



PACING PAGE 



The Map of Orontius, Southern Hemisphere . . Frontispiece 

Magellan Passing his Straits . 16 

Sir Francis Drake 22 

The Continuous Southern Ocean 30 '/ 

Captain James Cook 40 v^ 

Gold Medal Presented to Capt. Cook by the Royal 
Society 60 v^ 

The "Endeavor" Approaching Otaheite 66 - 

Sea Leopard 78 

Brig "Jane" and Cutter "Beaufort" Passing through a 
Chain of Ice Islands 88 

A Bull Sea Elephant 96 

A Sea Lion Hunt 102 

Admiral Dumont d'Urville 112' 

The "Astrolabe" and "Zelee" in the Ice 120 

"Peacock" in Contact with Icebergs 130 

"Vincennes" in Disappointment Bay 136 

Captain Charles Wilkes 146 

View of the Antarctic Continent 152 

Catching the Great Penguins 162 

The Great Southern Barrier 178 

An Iceberg 188 

Antarctic Petrel 200 

Wild Life Near the South Pole . 208 

6 



6 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 
PAGE 

Aurora Australis 220 / 

Capt. R. F. Scott, R.N., C.V.0 240y 

The "Discovery" and Ice Barrier ....... 252' 

British Antarctic Expedition 260' 

Dr. N. Otto G. Nordenskjold \ 268 / 

A Crevasse 304 

Sir Ernest Shackleton 314 

The "Aurora" 354 

The "Aurora" at Anchor 364 

Wild's Party at the Foot of Denman Glacier .... 376 



THE SEVENTH CONTINENT 




THE WORLD ACCORDING TO HOMER 
B.C. 1000 




THE MAP OF MACBOBIUS 



THE 
SEVENTH CONTINENT 



CHAPTER I 



SOUTH POLAR PIONEERS 



ROMANCE and Adventure go hand in hand, close 
upon the heels of Tragedy. For centuries the 
Vikings and the Britons have unfurled their 
sails on the high seas and proudly raised their standards 
in the most remote corners of the earth. 

Amundsen returning triumphant from the field of 
battle has received the plaudits due the conqueror, 
while Scott, the heroic Britisher, who likewise stormed 
the Barrier, scaled the icy ramparts and reached the 
goal, lies with his companions where the fight was won, 
wrapt in the death mantle of the eternal snows. 

Thus have culminated the great ambitions of two 
lives. Looking back in vista of the years, there have 
been others who have struggled no less valiantly or 
died with the same heroic courage and the Southern 
Cross has had its votaries, whose love of romance and 
adventure have led them into untold perils. 

The extraordinary impetus to Arctic and Antarctic 
exploration during the last ten years has resulted in 
the discovery within a very brief period of one another, 

9 



10 The Seventh Continent 

the two Polar extremities of the earth. A feat which 
fifty years ago had been considered well nigh impos- 
sible. The Arctic has been for centuries replete with 
romance, its history has been a constant repetition of 
attempts, first to discover a shorter route to the Far 
East, and latterly to reach the Pole itself. A famil- 
iarity with conditions existing in the vast area above 
the Arctic circle has long been common knowledge to 
the world. 

Up to within a comparatively short period little or 
nothing has been accurately known of the South Polar 
regions, the mystery of the Antarctic was shrouded by 
an extraordinary obscurity. It had been approached 
at rare and widely separated intervals by adventurous 
mariners, some of whom blown out of their course by 
the high winds, had drifted into its icy waters by 
accident, others had approached its boundaries by de- 
sign, but these first explorers did not venture to the 
South until after the Arctic region had been for many 
years the resort of ambitious explorers. 

The Greek geographers believed in the existence of 
a Southern Hemisphere, similar in climatic conditions 
to the known world of the Northern Hemisphere, but 
during the middle ages, the belief in the sphericity 
of the earth did not reconcile itself with the Biblical 
teachings and their theory was discredited. 

It was Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal 
who encouraged adventurous seamen to penetrate the 
torrid zone and circumnavigate the great continent of 
Afric^ in the hope of reaching the vast wealth of India. 

One Bartholomew Diaz by doubling the Cape of Good 
Hope in 1487, proved that an ocean separated Africa 
from land beyond the Antarctic circle and reported the 



South Polar Pioneers 11 

intense cold that had attended him in the passage of 
these southern limits. 

The Court of Spain was not unmindful of the im- 
portance of following up the discoveries of Columbus, 
or slow to take advantage of her prestige with the Pope 
of Rome, the source whence all new rights to sover- 
eignty were derived, which secured the sanction of the 
too famous Alexander VI in a bull of donation assigned 
to Spain in her controversy with Portugal, fixing the 
limits of partition by a meridian drawn 100 leagues 
west of the Azores and Cape de Verde Islands, giving 
to Spain the dominion of all lands newly discovered, 
or to be discovered, as far as 180 degrees west of this 
line, and to Portugal that which lay eastward of the 
meridian assumed. 

England and France disclaimed the right of the holy 
father to extend so generous a gift, and the French 
king is quoted as demanding to see the will of Father 
Adam before assuring himself that such donations were 
exclusively for favored princes. 

Spain and Portugal found no fault with the pope's 
gift, nor did they question his right to divide the un- 
known world between them, therefore in the succeeding 
years, as occasion offered, they profited by their alleged 
rights in the new world to rob and plunder the heathen 
Indian to the limit of their powers, though differences 
as to the limits of partition in the area of spoliation 
frequently arose. 

The rapid advance in the North American discoveries 
followed closely upon the discovery by Columbus. 
Vague conjectures were formulated as to the possibili- 
ties of land and seas which might lie to the south, for 
little that was accurate or definite was known. 



12 The Seventh Cantment 

One of the most renowned adventurers of the eaxly 
day was Vincent Yanez Pinzon, one of three remark- 
able brothers, who had sailed with Columbus on his 
first great voyage. 

In December, 1499, Vincent Yanez sailed from Palos, 
in Andalusia, with a fleet of four caravels, accompanied 
by two nephews, the sons of his deceased brother, Mar- 
tin Alozo, and a number of seamen and pilots who had 
sailed with Columbus in his last expedition to the coast 
of Paria. At a distance of about three hundred leagues 
from the Cape de Verde Islands, just after passing the 
equinoctial line, they were overtaken by fearful storms 
and drifted far to the south before the tempest. When 
the hurricane abated and the heavens brightened, they 
found, much to their dismay, the Polar Star was no 
longer to be seen. Deprived of their only guide, the 
mariners were adrift in the great ocean of the Southern 
Hemisphere. 

At this date the beautiful constellation of the South- 
ern Cross was not recognized as the guide to hardy 
mariners in these new seas. Pinzon, nevertheless, un- 
daunted by the strange surroundings of his precarious 
situation, resolutely sailed to the southwest, and on Jan- 
uary 20, 1500, beheld a prominent point of land on the 
new continent, now known as Cape St. Augustine, a 
part of the empire of Brazil. Pinzon landed and took 
formal possession in the name of Spain. He continued 
his voyage along the coast to the mouth of the Amazon, 
then proceeded northward and after many perils and 
adventures, found himself in the Gulf of Paria and 
with a cargo of wood proceeded once more by the 
guidance of the friendly North Star to Spain. 

Other hardy mariners steered their uncertain course 



South Polar Pioneers 13 

to the southward, notably Americus Vespucius, a Flor- 
entine, in 1501, in the service of the King of Portugal, 
who explored the Southern Hemisphere for 600 leagues 
to the South and from Cape St. Augustine, 150 leagues 
to the west, without having fallen in with the Rio de la 
Plata, which, when later discovered by De Solis, was 
believed to be a strait leading to the Western Ocean. 

Magellan's extraordinary voyage in 1520, which re- 
sulted in the discovery of the strait that bears his name 
and showed that America and Asia were separated from 
the Antarctic continent which was then believed to ex- 
tend from Terra del Fuego southward, outrivals in 
adventure the voyages of Columbus. Like him, Magel- 
lan's enthusiasm for discovery had experienced all the 
setbacks of the dreamer of dreams, but though a Portu- 
guese by birth, his gallant services had rendered him 
a man of world renown and his voluntary allegiance 
to Spain awakened that nation to an interest in his 
plans, which were to demonstrate that the shortest route 
to the Spice Islands lay far to the south, rather than 
through the impenetrable ice of a northwest passage — 
thus to prove that these islands lay within Spain's legal 
boundaries. 

After months of vexatious delays and disappoint- 
ments, Magellan organized a fleet of five vessels — the 
''Santo Antonio," 120 tons; ''Trinidad," 110 tons; 
" Concepcion, " 90 tons; "Virtona," 85 tons; "San- 
tiago," 75 tons. How rigged or masted is not known, 
but the poop and forecastle of each was provided with 
high ohra^s Muertas — in other words, with castles, which 
was not uncommon at that period. These ships were 
also decked, but though better than the caravels pro- 
vided for Columbus, a contemporary writer, one Alva- 



14 The Seventh Continent 

rez by name, then residing in Seville, says, ''They are 
very old and patched and I would be sorry to sail even 
for the Canaries in them, for their ribs are as soft as 
butter!" 

In the streets and quays of Seville the public crier 
called for volunteers to man this fleet after it had been 
patched up and put in readiness, and he found it so 
difficult to raise a complement of men, that officers were 
sent to neighboring ports, including Cadiz and Malaga, 
and put forth their best inducements with only meagre 
results. Nevertheless the stragglers finally materialized 
in sufficient numbers and included a great variety of 
different nations and characteristics. There were num- 
bered no less than thirty-seven Portuguese who will- 
ingly sailed under the banner of Spain; there were 
Basques, Genoese, Sicilians, French, Germans, Flem- 
ings, Greeks, Neapolitans, Corfiotes, Negroes, and Ma- 
lays and one Englishman, a gunner by the name of 
Andrew of Bristol. 

The ships had been well provided with armament 
for that day, though small arms were not greatly used, 
the artillery included sixty-two culverines, ten fal- 
conets and ten large bombards. A thousand lances, 
some fifty arquebuses, two hundred cross bows, and 
ten dozen javelins, ninety-five dozen darts, with 360 
dozen arrows, and "sundry swords which the Captain 
took. ' ' The list includes one hundred corselets, shoulder 
pieces, casques, and gauntlets, together with an equal 
number of cuirasses. As much as 5,600 pounds of 
powder was also stored. The navigators were supplied 
with such ''instruments" as the times produced, but 
these were of the simplest nature — "six pairs of com- 
passes, twenty-one wooden quadrants, seven astrotabes, 



South Polar Pioneers 15 

thirty-five compass-needles and eighteen hour-glasses — 
a few parchment charts prepared by Nimo Gracia. A 
large number of articles for barter were also taken, 
including stuffs and velvets, knives, crystals, ''which 
are diamonds of all colours," some 20,000 bells, which 
were evidently much desired for barter, brass bracelets 
and "looking-glasses for women great and fayre." 

With this motley crew and homogeneous cargo 
Magellan weighed anchor Tuesday the 20th of Septem- 
ber, 1519, and in a fair breeze the fleet pursued its 
course into unknown seas from which the survivors 
won immortal fame as the first circumnavigators of the 
globe. Small wonder that during the months of priva- 
tions and adventure in unknown and uncharted waters, 
there was discontent and mutiny. The inexact knowl- 
edge of the groping route followed by the fleet dis- 
heartened the men long before privations further 
exhausted them. 

Whatever previous knowledge /Magellan may have 
had of the existence of some Antarctic break in the 
great barrier to a western passage, it was not definite 
enough for his officers and men to place any faith upon 
it. The months of weary travel along inhospitable 
shores were discouraging to all save the intrepid leader. 

The great desire of his life was crowned when the 
entrance to tlie Straits was reached on October 21, 
1520, and the order was given for the fleet to enter. 

**0n their starboard hand they passed a cape, which, 
since it was St. Ursula's day, they called the Cape of 
the Eleven Thousand Virgins." The pilot, Alvo, took 
the latitude, and found it to be 52° S. 

The characteristic storms of these regions greeted 
their entrance and in the night the vessels became 



16 The Seventh Continent 

widely separated. Magellan gave up as lost the ships 
** Antonio'' and * * Concepcion, " but some hours later 
in the lull after the hurricane, they were seen approach- 
ing, crowding all sail and gay with pennants. Dis- 
charging their large bombards as they approached, the 
sailors crowded the decks and shouted for joy. 

^'Upon which," says Pigafetta, an eye witness, "we 
united our shouts to theirs and thanking God and the 
Blessed Virgin, resumed our journey." 

Magellan penetrated the First Narrows for a distance 
of three or four miles, then signalled the fleet to anchor, 
and sent a boat ashore to explore the barren country. 

Passing the Second Narrows, the fleet entered Broad 
Eeach, and anchored October 28th, off an island at its 
head. 

On November 28th they emerged from the Straits 
and two days later Magellan put the momentous prob- 
lem to his officers demanding their opinion upon the 
advisability of continuing the voyage. It seems all but 
one were in favor of pushing on, but this hardly ex- 
plains the desertion of the *'St. Antonio," with her 
officers and crew, which basely returned to Seville, 
reaching there May 6, 1521. This was a bitter blow 
to Magellan, coming on the eve of his success. Never- 
theless, he was determined to push on. There remained 
three months' provisions and the pity of abandoning 
his research seemed evident. Little or no conception of 
the vastness of the Pacific disturbed his sanguine hopes 
and it seemed most probable the Spice Islands were 
almost within their reach. 

Rounding Cape Forward Magellan anchored in the 
river to which he gave the name of the River of Sar- 
dines from the abundance of fish to be found there. 




I 




MAGELLAN PASSING HIS STRAIT 



South Polar Pioneers 17 

The passage of the strait, a distance of about 320 
miles, occupied thirty-eight days. Faring northward 
to escape the cold and tempest, they sailed on calmer 
and more friendly seas. 

''Well was it named the Pacific," Pigafetta writes, 
"for during this time (three months and twenty days) 
we met no storm." 

Skirting the west coast of Patagonia they reached 
on December 1st latitude 48° S. at a distance of some 
fifty or sixty miles from the coast. Day after day 
passed with only the horizon of an endless waste of 
waters. On January 24th, 1521, they sighted a tiny 
island which they found to be uninhabited, and which 
they named St. Paul's Island. Varying their course 
from N. W. to W. N. W. they sighted a second island, 
where, writes Pigafetta, ''We found only birds and 
trees, but we saw there many fish called Tiburoni. 
Since we found there neither people, nor consolation, 
nor sustenance of any kind, the name of Desaven- 
turadas — the Unfortunate Islands — was given this and 
St. Paul's Island." 

The condition of the men, from lack of food and 
water, was now most pitiable. "Such a dearth of bread 
and water was there that they ate by ounces, and held 
their noses as they drank the water for the stench 
of it." 

"We ate biscuit," says another sufferer, "but in 
truth it was biscuit no longer, but a powder full of 
worms, for the worms had devoured its whole sub- 
stance, and in addition it was stinking with the urine 
of rats. So great was the want of food that we were 
forced to eat the hides with which the main yard was 
covered to prevent the chafing against the rigging. 



18 The Seventh Continent 

These hides, exposed to the sun and rain and wind, 
had become so hard, that we were obliged first to soften 
them by putting them overboard for four or five days, 
after which we put them on the embers and ate them 
thus. We had also to make use of sawdust for food, 
and rats became such a delicacy that we paid half a 
ducat apiece for them." 

To add to their sufferings scurvy broke out in a most 
aggravated form and many died. 

Another month passed wearily by and these poor 
forlorn wretches looked in vain for land. Thus for 
ninety-eight days they sailed these inhospitable seas, 
when on March 6th the group of islands now called 
the Mariannes or the Ladrones were sighted by the rem- 
nant of the diminished fleet. 

Guam was approached, but hardly had they dropped 
anchor before the natives boarded the vessel and robbed 
the enfeebled crew of everything they could lay their 
hands on. The next day Magellan landed a force of 
sixty men and burnt the native villages, regained his 
stolen goods and what was most necessary, obtained 
supplies with which to pursue his journey. 

Later in March they reached the southern point of 
the Samar Island of the Philippines, then touched at 
Suluan, and anchored at Malhon where they first en- 
countered the natives of the Philippine Islands. 

Trading with the natives they secured provisions, an 
abundance of fruit, cocoanuts, oranges and bananas, 
etc., by which the seamen were rapidly restored to 
health. 

Weighing anchor Monday, March 25th, the fleet 
struck across the eastern shores of Leyte or Seilani, 
then to Mazata. After bartering with the natives, meet- 



South Polar Pioneers 19 

ing the local potentate, exchanging ceremonious hos- 
pitalities, Magellan again weighed anchor on April 4th 
and pursued a northwest course and on Sunday, 7th 
of April the fleet anchored at Sebu £ind later a treaty- 
was entered into by the King and the foreign invaders. 

It was only a few days after this that Magellan 
carried away by his triumph in at last arriving at the 
shores of plenty, and by an impassioned desire to con- 
vert to the Catholic faith the natives whom he found 
without creed or religion, landed a force for the pur- 
pose of converting those people who seemed at first 
very willing to embrace the Christian faith. Though 
the king and 800 of his followers, with due ceremonial 
adopted the new religion, there were other and lesser 
chiefs who refused to accept Magellan's professions and 
eventually this led to a miserable skirmish with the 
natives, in which Magellan's death paid the forfeit of 
his ambitions. 

"He died," writes Pigafetta to Villiers de I'Isle 
Adam, Grand Master of Rhodes, to whom he dedicated 
his book giving this account: ''But I trust that your 
Illustrious Highness will not permit his memory to be 
lost, the more so since I see born again in you the good 
qualities of so great a captain, one of his leading vir- 
tues being his constancy in the worst misfortune. At 
sea he endured hunger better than we. Greatly learned 
in nautical charts, he knew more of the true art of 
navigation than any other person, in sure proof whereof 
is the wisdom and intrepidity with which — no example 
having been afforded him — ^he attempted, and almost 
completed, the circumnavigation of the globe. ' ' 

"By birth, education and life, Magellan was a gen- 
tleman," writes Guillemard the historian, *'nay, more, 



20 The Seventh Continent 

an aristocrat, and aristocrate cm hottt des ongle. Of 
noble family, reared at court, and a Queen's page, he 
passed into the Indian service under the first Viceroy, 
with the flower of Spain for his comrades. With such 
a chief and fellow-officers, and at such a period, the 
best qualities of his nature could not but become devel- 
oped. Later, he served under Albuquerque. The fact 
that he was in India with the two ablest Viceroys, and 
that his long service was at the most exciting part of 
that century 's history had doubtless not a little influence 
upon his chgiracter. Magellan was a born leader of 
men from sheer force of character and strength of will. 
But there was more than mere energy in him. That 
he was a man of considerable intelligence there is no 
doubt from the evidence of other writers besides Piga- 
fetta, and entirely apart from the question of whether 
he was or was not previously aware of the existence 
of the straits of which he went in search. But the most 
charming trait in his character is the carelessness of 
self which reveals itself so often in the history of his 
life, the readiness to sacrifice himself on all occasions 
for others. With his own hands he tended his sick crew 
in the Philippines, after having shared on equal terms 
with them the privations of their voyage across the 
Pacific. With mutineers and traitors, in fact with all 
who rebelled against authority, even if only mere 
shirkers or grumblers, he was na doubt a hard master; 
but to those who served him faithfully and did their 
duty he ever remained a stanch friend. Moreover, he 
bears a name of untarnished honour. There is no single 
story against him, nothing to hide or to slur over, no 
single act of cruelty even in that age of cruelties." 
On the 6th of September, 1522, after a voyage of three 



South Polar Pioneers 21 

years' duration, in which 14,160 leagues of sea had 
been traversed, the survivors of Magellan's fleet, in 
the one remaining ship, the '* Victoria," sailed into 
St. Luca and the following day anchored at Seville. 
Pigafetta concludes his narrative of this extraordinary 
journey almost poetically: 

*' These were mariners who surely merited an eternal 
memory more justly than the argonauts of old. The 
ship, too, undoubtedly deserved far better to be placed 
among the stars than the ship 'Argo,' which from 
Greece discovered the great sea; for this our wonderful 
ship, taking her departure from the Straits of Gib- 
raltar, and sailing southward through the great ocean 
towards the Antarctic Pole, and then turning west, not 
by sailing back, but proceeding constantly forward, so 
compassing the globe, until she marvelously regained 
her native country Spain." 

All the sea and land discovered by Magellan were 
claimed by Spain as its sole possession — an assumption 
at which the other nations grumbled but long left un- 
disputed. 

That famous English Buccaneer, Sir Francis Drake, 
noted for his qualities of firmness, talent to command, 
perseverance, and bravery, who from sheer audacity of 
enterprise sailed in many waters and recklessly plun- 
dered on high seas and foreign shores, winning for 
himself the term of the ''Master Thief of the Unknown 
World," rose to be in high favor with Queen Elizabeth, 
who eventually made him Admiral of England, stands 
forth as one of the boldest Mariners of all time. 
Through his repeated voyages into the little known 
waters of the Southern Hemisphere, he accumulated a 
vast amount of geographical knowledge and his most 



22 The Seventh Continent 

important voyage, the circumnavigation of the globe 
in 1578, proved to the world that the Tierra del Fuego 
Archipelago was of small extent and that any continent 
which lay to the South must be within a region of per- 
petual winter. 

At the time Drake's ambitious project was set be- 
fore the Queen, the New World had become the grand 
lottery of the Old, and Spain, a hated rival in wealth, 
trade and explorations, was only nominally at peace 
with England. It is certain that Drake's plan of a 
voyage through Magellan's straits, held all the charac- 
teristics of boldness and daring dear to Elizabeth's 
heart, and his proposal to venture and trade in ports 
claimed by Spain as her right by prior discovery, was 
sufficient argument to convince Elizabeth that from 
such an undertaking, if successful, would accrue great 
advantages to the glory of England. 

The plan accordingly received her decided, though 
secret, sanction, and it is even affirmed that Drake 
held a royal commission. However that may be, the 
subtle Elizabeth at the parting interview with Drake 
is said to have presented him with a sword, and deliv- 
ered this emphatic speech: 

'*We do account that he who striketh at thee, Drake, 
striketh at us." 

The squadron was ostensibly fitted out for a trading 
voyage to Alexandria, but few were deceived by this 
pretense, least of all the watchful Spaniards. The fleet 
consisted of five vessels of light burthen, the largest, 
the '* Pelican," was only one hundred tons. The others 
were the bark ''Elizabeth," 80 tons; the fly-boat, 
''Swan," 50 tons; the pinnace, "Christopher," 15 tons; 
the bark ' ' Marigold, ' ' 30 tons, and a second pinnace, the 



r,^ 




SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

From the Original Miniature by Hilliard 



South Polar Pioneers 23 

"Benedict," 12 tons, which accompanied the ''Eliza- 
beth." The elaborate preparations in outfitting these 
ships, and the unusually large supply of ammunition 
and stores gave rise to the general conclusion that this 
fleet was contemplating an extended voyage. Drake's 
exploits were too well known for the general belief in 
a short voyage for the purpose of trade, and such 
statements were given little weight. 

The passage of Magellan's Straits even to a man less 
obnoxious to the Spanish nation, was an undertaking 
that could only be rationally entertained by a bold 
commanding genius, relying implicitly on his own re- 
sources. The extraordinary dangers and difficulties in- 
cident to the navigation of these Straits had made the 
Spaniards abandon it, and it was the common gossip of 
Mariners that the passage had closed up. 

Superstition clung about the fatal passage and it was 
asserted that all further attempts in the South Sea 
would prove disastrous to the Mariner. Citing as ex- 
amples the tragic end of every celebrated discoverer 
there, feeling was general that Providence had a con- 
troversy with those who were so daring as to pass the 
insuperable barriers placed between the known and the 
unknown world. 

Magellan had met his death at the hand of barbarous 
heathens in this new region, which Europeans had no 
sanction to approach. Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the 
European who first saw the South Sea, was put to 
death by his countrymen ; and De Solis had been cruelly 
murdered by natives of Rio de la Plata, when pro- 
ceeding to the Strait. Most of the commanders had 
successively perished of diseases produced by the hard- 
ships and anxiety attending the voyage. The Mariner 



24 The Seventh Coniinent 

De Lope, who from the topmast of a ship of Magellan 's 
fleet first saw the strait, had a fate still more dreadful 
in the eyes of the good Catholics of' Castile, as he 
had turned renegade and Mohammedan. 

Drake had heard of these real and imaginary dangers 
that would likely heset the trackless path of his adven- 
turous enterprise, hut this served only to strengthen his 
purpose. Through a long and varied experience Drake 
knew the full value of shows and pageants and added 
to the cargo usually exported for trade elegancies sel- 
dom thought of by early navigators. He carried his 
own rich and elaborate furniture and an equally elegant 
equipage, '^silver cooking utensils and the plates of his 
table were of rich and curious workmanship/' He 
also carried a band of excellent musicians and in fact 
studied every detail of his equipment with an eye to 
impress the natives in the lands he proposed to visit 
or discover, with the magnificence and high state of 
refinement and of the arts of his own country. 

They set sail November 15, 1577, but encountering 
a violent gale were obliged to put back to Pl3rmouth 
for repairs, which occupied the impatient commander 
until the 13th of December, when they finally weighed 
anchor and proceeded on their voyage. 

Early in April they sighted the coast of Brazil. 

In 471/2° South latitude seals were so plentiful that 
putting into port the party killed upwards of 200 in 
an hour. With brief stops for the purpose of filling 
the water butts, killing seals and salting birds for 
future provision, with occasional parleys with the na- 
tives, Drake bore steadily for the Straits. On the 
20th of May the squadron reached the Port St. Julian 
of Magellan in 40° 30' South, where, says an eye wit- 



South Polar Pioneers 25 

ness, *'We found the gibbet still standing on the main 
where Magellan did execute justice upon some of his 
rebellious and discontented company." 

"When the ships were safely moored Drake and a 
party landed and came up with a few natives — of the 
Patagonian tribes described by Magellan. Although 
friendly overtures were made and at first it seemed 
as if they would meet on a peaceful footing, a skirmish 
resulted in one fatality among the English and another 
man was desperately wounded. Drake's presence of 
mind in seizing the dead gunner's piece and taking 
aim at the man who had killed Oliver and shooting 
him saved the situation. The wounded man's cries dis- 
persed the other natives who were approaching the 
scene in great numbers, and doubtless saved a whole- 
sale massacre of the English. 

Drake, like Magellan, suffered the trials incident to 
rebellious and mutinous crews. While the fleet lay at 
Port St. Julian one Thomas Doughty, * ' a man of talent 
and too probably of ill-regulated ambition," who had 
served as an officer, and was said to have enjoyed to 
a high degree the affection and confidence of Drake, 
was accused of conspiracy and mutiny and of a plan 
to massacre Drake and the principal officers, and as one 
of those present tersely writes, ''Mr. Thomas Doughty 
was brought to his answer, — accused, convicted and be- 
headed." The merits of his case are obscure, the re- 
sults demonstrate the prompt solution of problems that 
confronted the old adventurers. 

The ships had now been reduced to three and Drake 
had scattered the surplus seamen upon these with a 
view to having a compact and more manageable fleet. 
The ships being ''trimmed", supplied with wood and 



26 The Seventh Continent 

water, and such other necessaries as could be obtained, 
sailed from the "port accursed" on August 17th. It 
is recorded that while they lay at Port St. Julian the 
weather, in July and August, was as cold as at mid- 
winter in England. 

On the 20th they rounded Cape de las Virgines, 
entered the Strait and on the 24th anchored 30 leagues 
within it. On the north side natives were seen making 
great fires, but on the south side no human being could 
be observed. The length was computed to be about 
110 leagues. The tide setting in from both sides was 
seen to rise some fifteen feet and met at about the 
middle or nearer the western entrance. 

On the 24th the ships came to anchor near three 
small islands on which were innumerable ''birds (pen- 
guins) having no wings, but short pinions which serve 
their turn in swimming. ' ' The seamen killed some 3,000 
of these birds which were as ' ' fat as an English Goose. ' ' 

''The land on both sides was very huge and moun- 
tainous; the lower mountains whereof, although they 
be very monstrous to look upon for their height, yet 
there are others which in height exceed them in a 
strange manner, reaching themselves above their fol- 
lowers so high, that between them did appear three 
regions of clouds. These mountains are covered with 
snow at both the southerly and easterly parts of the 
strait. There are islands among which the sea hath 
his indraught into the straits even as it hath at the 
main entrance. The strait is extremely cold, with frost 
and snow continually. The trees seem to stoop with 
the burden of the weather, and yet are green contin- 
ually, and many good and sweet herbs do very plenti- 
fully increase and grow under them." 



South Polar Pioneers 27 

At the western entrance, the numerous narrow chan- 
nels caused Drake to anchor his ships and cautiously 
investigate their outlet and to explore these various 
openings to the South Sea. The western entrance was 
reached early in September and on the 6th of the 
same month Drake sailed his British ships into the 
South Sea. He now bore to the Northwest, but where 
Magellan had encountered calm and pleasant seas Drake 
met with violent and steady gales, which drove the 
ships far out of their course to 57° South latitude and 
some 200 leagues west of Magellan's Strait. 

Upon entering the South Sea, Drake had rechristened 
his ship the ** Golden Hind," and now in the violence 
of the storms the ''Marigold" became separated from 
her sister ships, the "Elizabeth" and the "Golden 
Hind," and carried off to sea, was never heard of 
again. On October 7th the two remaining ships found 
shelter near the western entrance of Magellan's Strait, 
later called the Bay of Parting Friends, where they 
intended to anchor until the weather should abate, but 
the violence of the gales still pursued them and in 
the night the cable of the "Golden Hind" parted and 
she was carried out to sea. Captain Winter of the 
"Elizabeth," heartily sick of the trials and privations 
the journey had cost him, made little effort to follow 
his commander, but at daybreak once more entered the 
Straits and pursued a course for England. The "Eliz- 
abeth" with her captain and crew had a long, toil- 
some journey on the homeward voyage ; it was the 11th 
of November when she cleared the straits after her 
desertion and June the following year before Captain 
Winter found himself in England, "with the credit 
of having made the passage of the straits eastward, 



28 The Seventh Contment 

and the shame of having deserted his commander, 
while tlie company, with nobler spirit, showed unshaken 
fidelity and unabated ardor/' 

The **Hind'' driven at the mercy of the winds was 
carried back to 55° South, and Drake judged it wise 
to find shelter among the islands and broken land of 
Terra del Fuego, where they could get seals and fresh 
water and fortify against further adventure. Their 
interval of rest was brief and the gales once more bat- 
tered them with such violence that they were again 
driven out to sea, and suffered a still greater disaster 
in the loss of the shallop, in which were eight seamen 
with almost no provisions. These unfortunate men 
regained the straits, salted penguins for future use 
and in their frail bark contrived to reach Port St. 
Julian, later Rio de la Plata, where six wandering in 
the woods in search of food were attacked and wounded 
by the Indians, four were made prisoners, two es- 
caped, and joined their two comrades who had been 
left in charge of the boat. The Indians relentlessly 
pursued them and the whole four were wounded be- 
fore they could make their escape in the shallop. They 
rowed to a small island three leagues distant, where 
two of their comrades died of their wounds. Another 
calamity befell them, their boat was dashed to pieces 
on the rocks. The twQ forlorn survivors remained on 
this desolate island for a period of two months subsist- 
ing on eels, small crabs, and a fruit resembling an 
orange, but there being no fresh water to be found on 
the island, their agonies from thirst became unendur- 
able, and discovering a plank some ten feet long which 
had drifted from Rio de la Plata, they improvised a 
raft by adding sticks and storing on the frail structure 



South Polar Pioneers 29 

what provisions they could, they committed their souls 
to God, and '^clinging and paddling this ark, they in 
three days and two nights made the mainland, which 
had long tantalized their sight." In relating the issue 
of this adventure, the words of Peter Carder, the 
survivor, are adopted: 

''At our first coming on land we found a little river 
of sweet and pleasant water, where William Pitcher, 
my only comfort and companion, although I dissuaded 
him to the contrary, overdrank himself, being perished 
before with extreme thirst, and, to my unspeakable 
grief and discomfort, died half an hour after in my 
presence, whom I buried as well as I could in the 
sand. ' ' 

After a nine years' absence among the savages and 
as a prisoner of the Portuguese of Bahia de Todos los 
Santos, Peter Carder eventually got back to England 
and had ''the honour of relating his adventures be- 
fore Queen Elizabeth who presented him with twenty- 
two angels, and recommended him to her Lord High 
Admiral Howard." 

To return to the ' ' Golden Hind ' ' : Driven by the force 
of terrific gales in uncharted seas, the crucial moment 
of Drake's voyage was at hand, for driven continu- 
ously southward among the islands he at last reached 
the southern extremity of the American continent and 
this was the most important stage in the navigation of 
Drake as a voyage of discovery, for the high winds 
drove his ship around it and at the end of the great 
storm he found himself in 56° South latitude, and 
"here no land was seen, but the Atlantic and the 
South Sea meeting in a large free scope." 

They had entered the Pacific the 6th of September 



30 The Seventh Continent 

and not until the 28th of October did the violence of 
the continual hurricanes abate. The * ' Golden Hind ' ' now 
came to anchor in twenty fathoms of water in a harbor 
and within a gun shot of an island, the southern point 
of which has long been known as Cape Horn. Thus 
Drake and his company, through a chance of fate, 
visited ''the southernmost point of land in the world 
known or likely to be known, and further than any 
man had ever before ventured." 

In compliment to his royal mistress, Drake gave to 
all islands discovered by him the name of the Eliza- 
bethides, and he changed the Spanish name of Terra 
Incognita to Terra bene nunc Cognita and on October 
30th, with a fair wind from the south he held a course 
northwest, but changed it to an easterly course, that 
he might examine the coast, and November 25th found 
him anchored at the Island of Mocha off the coast of 
Chili. 

"We will not follow his westward journey through its 
vicissitudes and triumphs, his discovery of the coast 
of Oregon and California and his travels in the far 
East, suffice that early in November, 1580, Captain 
Drake, after a voyage of three years and ten months, 
came to anchor whence he had set out in the harbour 
of Plymouth, bringing with him the wealth of India, 
gold, silver, precious stones, rare silks and spices. His 
return from his wonderful adventures was hailed 
throughout England as an event of national importance. 

Nevertheless, men were chary and avoided too prompt 
a recognition of Drake's achievements, being aware of 
the serious complications that must result with Spain. 
His success, however, could not long be doubted and 
gave an incalculable impetus to the rapidly increasing 



~^~<lFl<£i.v"i^%fiS&*s,. /J 



.-*^.- ^~ \J^ '"' ^^ 



THE CONTINUOUS SOUTHERN OCEAN 

From NordensJcjoId's "Facsimile Atlas" 



Sotcth Polar Pioneers 31 

maritime spirit of England. No Englishman ever re- 
ceived greater praise for daring deeds, his exploits and 
adventures were the topic of the day and though his 
detractors were not wanting, his reputation was exalted 
by the honour of knighthood conferred upon him by 
Elizabeth, who is reported to have graciously said to 
him ''that his actions did him more honour than the 
title which she conferred.'' 

Spanish complaints were soon forthcoming at the 
intrusion of Drake for sailing upon the South Sea, 
but Elizabeth scornfully dismissed them denying "that, 
by the Bishop of Rome's donation or any other right, 
the Spaniards were entitled to debar the subjects of 
other princes from these new countries; the gift of 
what is another's constituting no valid right; that 
touching here and there, and naming a river or cape, 
could not give a proprietary title, nor hinder other 
nations from trading or colonizing in those parts where 
the Spaniards had not planted settlements." 



CHAPTER II 

CAPTAIN cook's FIRST VOYAGE TO THE SOUTHERN SEA 

MAPS and charts of the New World in the six- 
teenth and early seventeenth centuries are crude 
and interesting exhibitions of the cartographer's 
fancy, drawn from the reported facts of returned ad- 
venturers, or 'dependent for their accuracy upon the 
traditions of the past. Hearsay connected a vast and 
unexplored land to the south of the Malay archipelago 
and these early maps show the coast of Terra del 
Fuego attached to the coast of New Guinea, and the 
outline of a vast continent, the Third World, stretch- 
ing far into the tropics, while the great South Atlantic 
and Pacific oceans were practically uncharted. 

It was the quest of this great Third World that 
was the leading motive of explorers in the 16th and 
early 17th centuries, and no doubt the recrudescence of 
charts showing a great southern continent south of New 
Guinea pointed to the fact that early mariners — prob- 
ably adventurous Portuguese — ^had seen the coast of 
Australia as early as 1512. 

About fifty years later a Spanish pilot, Juan 
Fernandez, who often made the passage from Peru to 
the new settlements in Chili, in an effort to find favor- 
able winds from the south so helpful in the tedious 
and difficult voyage, while creeping along the coast, 
stood out to sea, and in progress of his voyage, dis- 

3? 



Captain Cook's First Voyage to the Southern Sea 33 

covered the island, 115 leagues from the American 
coast, in 33° 41' South latitude, which bears his name 
— a name familiar to the world to-day as Robinson 
Crusoe's Island. This fortunate discovery of land 
offered what the seamen in strange seas are ever on 
the alert to find — wood, water and food and a safe 
anchorage. 

Cocos Island, The Turtle Islands, later celebrated 
as a rendezvous for English Buccaneers, had by now 
been discovered. An interesting chapter in Spanish 
navigation was the voyage to the South Sea of Mendana 
in 1567, in which he saw land, 60° 45' South latitude, 
distant 1450 leagues from the port of departure at 
Callao, and this proved to be a group of islands to 
which he gave the name of the Solomon Isles, in the 
hope that this appellation would attract attention and 
convey the impression of great wealth and precious 
commodities to be found there. It is reported that 
his ruse attracted wide credence and that in that age 
of superstitious ignorance, these islands were believed 
by the uneducated to be those from which Solomon had 
obtained gold and sandal-wood, and the rare materials 
employed in erecting the Temple. 

Upon Mendana 's return to Lima with the romantic 
accounts of the wealth and fertility of the newly dis- 
covered islands, a project was put on foot for their im- 
mediate settlement, but in the more rapid extension 
of continental invasion, the idea died a natural death 
and Mendana 's discovery nearly faded from recollection, 
until the Solomon Islands were rediscovered in 1769, 
nearly two centuries later, by M. Surville. 

Later, in 1599, one Gherritz, a Dutchman, on board 
the **Blijde Boodschap," became separated from the 



34 The Seventh Continent 

fleet of Admiral Jaques Mahn, when coming out of the 
Strait of Magellan and was carried by tempestuous 
weather far to the south and reached 64° South latitude, 
where land with high mountains was plainly seen, much 
resembling the snow capped mountains of Norway and 
stretching in the direction of Solomon's Islands. So 
firm was the belief in his discovery that Gherritz Land 
finds a place on the maps until 1806, which was later 
changed to Gherritz Archipelago, the name being ap- 
plied to the southern portion of West Antarctica. The 
reliability of Gherritz 's discovery is discredited. How- 
ever, it is generally accepted that the islands of West 
Antarctica were sighted before the year 1622. 

In 1605 Pedro Fernandez de Queros set out in search 
of the mysterious ''Tierra Austral" and Luis Vaez 
de Torres second in command sighted the following 
year an extended coast south of New Guinea. A 
Dutchman followed in the same track a year later and 
reported sighting the same land. 

Theodoric Kertoge, sailing in the ^ ' Eendracht, ' ' re- 
ported in 1616 seeing another part of this land. The 
venturesome voyage of Abel Tasman completed the 
discovery of the island continent of Australia. 

Many still believed the illusion that the great south 
world stretched unbroken from Terra del Puego in spite 
of the fact that Le Maire and Schoulen the year previ- 
ous had rediscovered the Southern limits and named 
them Cape Horn. 

Others sailed around the southern cape and brought 
home their romantic accounts of what they had ex- 
perienced, notably Captain Bartholomew Sharp, a 
hardy Buccaneer who rounded the cape in January, 
1681 and writes emphatically: 



Captain Cook's First Voyage to the Southern Sea 35 

**To conclude therefore the whole, I shall only tell 
you, that after I had sailed near 60 Deg. S. Lat., and 
as far if no farther, than any before me, I arrived on 
the 30th of January at Nevis, from whence in some 
time I got passage for England/' 

In **A Collection of Original Voyages," we have 
Captain Cowley's account of how his men spent their 
leisure while sailing in these remote seas. Passing out- 
side Staaten Land in January, 1684, 

''Then haling away S. W. we came abreeist with Cape 
Horn the 14 Day of February, where we chusing of 
Valentines, and discoursing of the Intrigues of Women, 
there arose a prodigious storm, which did continue till 
the last day of the month, driving us with the Lat. of 
60 Deg. and 30 min. South, which is further than any 
ship hath sailed before South, so that we concluded 
the discoursing of woman at sea was very unlucky and 
causeth the storm. 

''Towards the beginning of the month of March, the 
wind coming up at South, we were soon carried into 
warm weather again; for the weather in that lat. of 
60 Deg. was so extreme cold that we could bear drink- 
ing 3 quarts of Brandy in 24 hours each man, and 
be not at all the worse for it, provided it were burnt." 

Though the blame for the tempestuous weather so 
frequently encountered in the Southern sea was put 
upon the evil of discussing women in the one case, in 
another instance it was blamed upon the malignant in- 
fluence of a "disconsolate black albatrose" which, ac- 
cording to one Captain Shelrocke in his account of his 
journey round the Horn in 1719, "accompanied us for 
several days, hovering about us as if he had lost him- 
self, till Hatley (my second captain) observing in one 



36 The Seventh Continent 

of his melancholy fits, that this bird was always hover- 
ing near us . . . at length shot the Albatrosse not 
doubting (perhaps) that we should have a fair wind 
after it." 

*'Belgia Australis," or the Falklands, were discovered 
by Admiral Jacob Roggeveen during his voyage round 
the world in 1721-1722. It is reported by a member of 
the expedition that he reached 62° 30' South latitude. 

Though explorations of the Southern Sea continued, 
it may be safely assumed that those navigators who fell 
in with southern ice, up to 1750 did so by accident, 
having been blown out of their course by contrary 
winds, and that such discoveries as were made before 
that date, were the result of these random journeys. 
An exception noted to this rule was the voyage made 
by Halley in 1700, in H. M. S. ''Paramour," which had 
for its set purpose the desire for scientific magnetic 
observations in the South Atlantic. In 52° South lati- 
tude he met with ice and records the conditions of his 
farth,est South. 

To the French nation must be given the credit for 
the first definite attempt at Antarctic explorations, and 
to that nation belongs without stint the honor of dis- 
interested enterprise. The explorations of Spain and 
Portugal had been for the lust of gold. England had 
fostered marine enterprise for the avowed purpose of 
extending her trade. The renewed search for the North 
West passage had directed her adventurers to the 
profitable fur-bearing lands of North America. 

There weis little in the barren wastes of Patagonia 
to attract her mariners, and with the exception of Sir 
Francis Drake, few had deliberately set sail under the 
Southern Cross. The inhospitable shores of South 



Captain Cook^s First Voyage to the Southern Sea 37 

America had nothing to attract them, the storms and 
tempests that greeted the venturesome mariner who 
rounded the Horn were already proverbial, and while 
the north lands abounded in animal and vegetable 
life the barrenness and bleakness of the southern 
wastes were too inhospitable to attract the traveller. 
Therefore, the trend of exploration had been north- 
ward and while rapid advances were made into these 
rich and valuable new lands, the extremity of the 
southern continent continued in comparative obscurity. 

France, however, awakened to a keen interest in 
South Sea explorations and enthusiasm for discovery, 
which led to scientific exploration by a young French 
naval officer. Monsieur des Lozier Bouvet during the 
years 1738-1739, who made a determined effort to dis- 
cover the legendary southern lands, supposed to have 
been seen by one Sier de Gonneville, in the year 1503, 
and described as lying south of the Cape of Good 
Hope. 

The frigate ^TAigle" commanded by Bouvet and 
the frigate ''La Marie'' commanded by Monsieur Hays 
sailed from Lorient about the 29th of July, 1738. They 
reached 49° South latitude December 15th and for 
the first time saw the ice. On the first of January, 
1739 the *'Aigle" sighted high lands covered with 
snow, which Bouvet names ''Cap de la Circoncision ' ' 
in memory of the day. They charted its position as 
54° South latitude and 26° to 27° of longitude east of 
Teneriffe. They were, however, uncertain whether it 
was an island or a headland projecting from a larger 
area of land. For twelve days the ships tried in vain 
to make a landing, but the ice surrounding the coast 
made such an attempt unsuccessful. Heavy weather 



38 The Seventh Continent 

and persistent fogs made a longer stay of little 
profit and on the 11th of January they sailed back 
to between 51° and 52° South latitude, and then 
followed this parallel eastward. Bouvet describes 
having seen near the land he discovered birds, whales 
and "sea wolves." 

The sight of land to the south of Cape Horn was 
reported by Guyot, who sailed in the Spanish ship 
''Leon," which left Lima for Cadi? February 8, 1756. 
The location of this was set down as near 55° 10' South 
latitude and 52° 10' West longitude. The chronicler 
writes, ''We steered to the eastward, to observe 
whether the said land stretched further in that part. 
About 8 o'clock (July 1st) we saw its most easterly 
point by compass to the north 5° and twelve leagues 
off. At midday, continuing on the same course, we 
were in 55° 23' latitude estimated, and 51° longitude." 
Authorities generally agree that the land sighted by 
the Leon was South Georgia. 

Captain du Fresne and Chevalier De Clesmeur 
claimed to have discovered the land now known as the 
Marion Islands and Crozet Islands in January 1772. 

The French flutes "La Fortune" and "Le Gros 
Ventre" under the command of Captain Yves T. de 
Kerguelen Tremarec sighted a small island in 50° 5' 
south latitude 60° west longitude (Paris) on February 
12th, 1772, and the next day sighted a much larger 
island in 49° 40' south latitude and 61° 10' west longi- 
tude (Paris) which he called New France and be- 
lieved to be the central mass of the southern continent. 

Tremarec 's discoveries were discredited upon his re- 
turn to France so that he again set sail the following 
year in "le Roland" and accompanied by "I'Oiseau" 



Captain Cook's First Voyage to the Southern Sea 39 

and ''la Dauphine" revisited the scene of his dis- 
coveries and stayed in the vicinity some time. The 
largest island was named Kerguelen Island and on this 
a party landed and took formal possession January 6th, 
1775, in the name of the King of France. Hawkes- 
worth sums up the result of this expedition: 

''The discovery of an island of about two hundred 
leagues in circuit, with which he (Kerguelen) has en- 
riched geography, and which the poisoned breath of 
envy will never be able to wipe off from the ball of 
the earth.'' 

Up to this period navigation had remained for gen- 
erations uncertain and imperfect, system and discipline 
and necessary precautions to insure the health of sea- 
men upon long voyages were practically unknown. All 
distant undertakings were attended with great peril, 
frequently accompanied by privation, hardship and im- 
mense loss of life. But the hardy and resolute spirit 
of the adventurer was ever ready to embark upon a 
similar enterprise which had proved disastrous, if not 
fatal, to another. Possible fame and wealth acted as 
a stimulus to ambition and obliterated the memory of 
previous disasters. 

That there still remained a vast undiscovered ant- 
arctic continent was the obsession of the age and the 
leading geographers of the period were impatient to 
try out their preconceived theories. 

In England the Eoyal Society, a strong and leading 
factor in marine enterprise, gave heed to the stirring 
exhortation of Alexander Dalrymple, a man ' of bril- 
liant and erratic temperament, who, as a leading 
hydrographer and an enthusiast on South Sea dis- 
covery set forth his ideas of the existence of an un- 



40 The Seventh Continent 

known Southern continent with such convincing argu- 
ment that an expedition was organized and the com- 
mand given to Captain James Cook. This enterprise 
known as the Transit of Venus expedition to Tahite, 
afforded Dalrymple an opportunity of confirming the 
accuracy of the statements of his favorite explorer, 
Quiros. Resulting dissensions between Dalrymple and 
Cook influenced the Admiralty to try out Cook's geo- 
graphical accuracy and he was sent out again with ex- 
plicit instructions to once and for all solve the problem 
of the much-disputed Southern Continent. 

With the voyages of Cook comes a new era in South 
Polar exploration. What had been for the most part 
indefinite and unsatisfactory in the past became con- 
crete and systematized in the future. What had been 
at first casual examination, and frequently abandon- 
ment of enterprise, or the accidental rediscovery of for- 
gotten lands, now came to be carefully planned and 
thoroughly scientific research. Cook's voyages and 
Antarctic achievements would be remarkable in any 
age, but when we consider the meager equipment of 
that day, the slight knowledge of health laws under 
the unfavorable conditions of Antarctic travel, the 
ravages to be faced from scurvy, the slow progress and 
weariness of proceeding in these inhospitable waters in 
wooden ships under the uncertainties of wind and sail 
— one is astonished at the record which redounds to 
his credit. 

He surpassed by a distance of 600 miles the farthest 
South of any of his predecessors. He crossed the Ant- 
arctic Circle at four widely separated points, circum- 
navigated the Southern Ocean, proving the non-exist- 
ence of land to the very borders of the circle, but in 



I 



Captain Cook^s First Voyage to the Southern Sea 41 

his most stupendous discovery he proved that there ex- 
isted ice conditions to the far South of a character and 
importance never before dreamed of by the most 
imaginative adventurer. 

Of his antecedents and character the following brief 
account may prove interesting. James Cook was bom 
at Marton, England, and was one of nine children. His 
parents were poor and his father was a day laborer to 
a neighboring farmer. His education began under the 
direction of one Dame Walker, a schoolmistress, who 
taught him to read and write, but upon the removal 
of his family to Great Ayton, he assisted his father on 
the farm, while in his leisure hours sought instruction 
from the local schoolmaster, but his father's slender 
means made it necessary for young Cook to go to work. 

At thirteen, the boy was apprenticed to a shop- 
keeper, in the fishing town of Snaith, about ten miles 
from Whitby. This employment proved particularly 
distasteful to the boy and his longings for the sea so 
impressed his employer that he was given his discharge, 
and soon after bound himself for seven years to Messrs. 
John and Henry Walker, owners of the ' * Freelove ' ' and 
other vessels, which were employed in the coal trade. 
In the rough life of a common sailor he first learned 
the rudiments of practical navigation. 

In the year 1755 hostilities broke out between Eng- 
land and France. Young Cook, as mate of the ''Free- 
love," which was anchored in the Thames, was in fear 
of being pressed into service, and even went so far as 
to try to conceal himself, but changing his mind he 
went to Wapping and enlisted in the Royal Navy, 
and was assigned to the man of war ''Eagle," a ship 
of sixty guns under the command of Captain Hamer. 



42 The Seventh Continent 

Sir Hugh Palliser, who succeeded to the command in 
October, 1755, marked out Cook as an able, active and 
diligent seaman. A master's warrant was soon forth- 
coming and Cook was transferred to the sloop 
' ' Grampus. ' ' 

From this period marks Cook's rapid rise. He sailed 
in the ^'Mercury" to North America where she joined 
the fleet under Sir Charles Saunders, which in con- 
junction with the land forces under General Wolfe was 
engaged in the famous siege of Quebec. During that 
siege, a difficult and dangerous service was performed 
by young Cook in taking soundings at night in the 
channel of the Saint Lawrence between the Island of 
Orleans and the north shore, directly under the French 
fortifications. He was discovered by the enemy who 
sent out Indians in canoes to surround and cut off 
his retreat, and after a perilous experience he finally 
rejoined the fleet. For this and similar exhibitions of 
cool-headed bravery Cook won the high regard of his 
superior officers and laid the foundation for the extraor- 
dinary career that soon followed. 

The spirit of discovery, which has been described as 
being so vigorous during the latter part of the fifteenth 
and through the whole of the sixteenth century, began 
at the commencement of the seventeenth century to 
decline. The few isolated instances of great navigation 
kept alive the interest but especially with Great Britain, 
national unrest and the depredations of war had put 
purely scientific explorations in the background. 

With the restoration of peace in 1763, a revival of 
interest promoted the journeys of Wallis, and Carteret 
and Byron greatly contributed toward increasing the 
knowledge of the islands of Polynesia. Before they 



Captain Cook's First Voyage to the Southern Sea 43 

returned to Great Britain another and a greater under- 
taking of scientific interest already referred to had 
been resolved upon. Astronomers had forecast that 
the transit of Venus would take place in 1769, and it 
was judged that the best place for observing this 
phenomenon would be some part of the South Sea, 
either at Marquesas, or at one of the Islands discovered 
by Tasman and called the Friendly Islands. With its 
usual zeal for promoting all branches of scientific 
research, the Royal Society in a memorial to his 
Majesty dated February 15th, 1768, represented in 
forceful argument the importance of an expedition for 
the purpose of taking valuable careful astronomical 
observations. 

Though the principal object of this voyage was to ob- 
serve the transit of Venus, Cook had instruction, when 
this was accomplished, to proceed in making further 
discoveries in the South Seas. 

Provisioned for eighteen months and with a comple- 
ment of eighty-four men Cook set sail in ''Endeavor" 
from Deptford, July 30th, 1768. They anchored at Rio 
de Janeiro November 13th, and January 14th, 1769, 
entered the Strait of le Maire, but were driven out again 
by the violence of the tide which was against them 
and took refuge in a little cove which Captain Cook 
called St. Vincent's Bay. After reconnoitering in the 
vicinity for some days the "Endeavor" doubled the 
Horn, and Cook surveyed the Bay of Good Success 
and traced the coast. On the fourth of April Lagoon 
Island was sighted and on the tenth the ''Endeavor" 
came in sight of the Osnaburgh Island, first visited by 
Quiros in 1606. Other Islands of the Society Group 
were visited and on the 13th of April the "Endeavor" 



44 The Seventh Continent 

anchored within half a mile of the Island of Otaheite, 
where natives came off in canoes and brought bread 
fruit, cocoanuts, apples and some hogs, which they 
bartered for beads and other trinkets. 

To establish friendly relations with the natives, Cap- 
tain Cook drew up certain rules to be observed by his 
men the substance of which was, ' * That in order to pre- 
vent quarrels and confusion, every one of the ship's 
crew should endeavor to treat the inhabitants of Ota- 
heite with humanity, and by all fair means to cultivate 
a friendship with them. That no officer, seaman, or 
other person belonging to the ship, excepting such only 
as were appointed to barter with the natives, should 
trade or offer to trade, for any kind of provision, fruit, 
or other produce of the island, without having express 
leave so to do. That no person should embezzle, trade 
or offer to trade with any part of the ship's stores; 
and that no sort of iron or anything made of iron, or 
any sort of cloth, or other useful articles in the ship, 
should be given in exchange for anything but pro- 
visions. ' ' 

A landing was made and an improvised observatory 
and fort were erected. Friendly relations with the 
natives secured a superabundance of food, but the 
thieving propensities of the islanders were a constant 
aggravation to the Englishmen. 

By June 1st preparations for viewing the transit 
of Venus were made, and two parties sent out to make 
observations from different spots, so that in case of 
failing at Otaheite they might succeed elsewhere. One 
party in the long boat after rowing a good part of the 
night established their station at Eimayo. Others were 
sent to find a spot that might answer the purpose, at 



Captain Cook^s First Voyage to the Southern Sea 45 

a convenient distance from the principal station. 

On Saturday, June 3rd, the day of the transit, the 
sun rose without a cloud — in consequence, both parties 
sent out to make observations met with good success. 

On the 13th of July, 1769, the ''Endeavor" having 
successfully accomplished the main object of this 
voyage, proceeded on her way. Cook was now master 
of his future movements and his progress into the by- 
paths of navigation. The ''Endeavor" sailed onward 
without incident until the beginning of October, when 
a change of colour of the sea, the weeds on its surface 
and the appearance of birds which flew around the 
ship gave indications of the approach to land. On the 
6th an extensive coast was sighted and as the voyagers 
approached, ranges of hills were seen rising above one 
another, a lofty chain surmounting them all. Cook 
was of the opinion that he had at last discovered 
Terra Australis Incognita so long sought, but the 
land proved to be New Zealand. Cruising in the 
vicinity southward for six days. Cook reached a head- 
land which he named Cape Turnagain and on the 30th 
of October the ship doubled a lofty promontory to which 
was given the name of East Cape. 

After terminating the examination of the northwest- 
ern coast of New Zealand, he encountered such severe 
gales that in the period of five weeks he had only ad- 
vanced westward fifty leagues. 

The circumnavigation of New Zealand was of first 
importance in the results of this voyage. Since Tas- 
man's discovery it had been generally accepted that 
this country extended without break into the Terra 
Australis or continent supposed to extend to the south 
pole. To his satisfaction Cook had disproved this 



46 The Seventh Continent 

theory and owing to the lateness of the season he now 
directed his course to the eastern coast of Australia 
or as it was then charter, New Holland, respecting which 
little was known, with the purpose of examining that 
coast and returning to England by way of the East 
Indies. 

After sailing for nineteen days due west this little 
known coast loomed on the horizon stretching far to 
the northeast to west. He sailed to the northward and 
on April 28, in latitude 34 degrees S. he anchored in 
an inlet where he remained eight days. The coast was 
green and well wooded, and natives were seen, with 
whom efforts were made to establish friendly relations 
with only indifferent results. From the variety of 
plants secured by the Botanist of the expedition this 
inlet was named Botany Bay, since famous in rhyme 
and song. 

Captain Cook weighed anchor on the 6th of May 
and proceeded on a voyage of discovery along these 
unexplored coasts for a distance of 1300 miles. About 
one month later the ''Endeavor" was off a point in 
latitude 16 degrees South, and longitude 146 deg. 39' 
E., which from an unfortunate occurrence Cook named 
Tribulation Bay. 

During a boisterous night the ship struck upon some 
coral reefs with such force that it seemed as if she would 
go to pieces. Boats were lowered and the crew found 
that the "Endeavor" had been lifted by the violence 
of the surf over the reef and into a kind of basin. The 
crew tried in vain to get her off and she pounded so 
violently against the rocks that the men could hardly 
keep their footing. 

"The moon shone brightly, and they could see that 



Captain Cook's First Voyage to the Southern Sea 47 

the planks which formed the sheathing of the ship 
were floating off, and the false keel following. The 
water then rushed in with such force, that, though 
all the pumps were manned, the leak could scarcely 
be kept under; the guns on deck, ballast, casks, and 
other articles, were thrown overboard, and the crew 
were thus employed in lightening the ship till day- 
break; while so impressed were the men with their 
danger, that not an oath was uttered, the wicked habit 
of swearing being subdued by the dread of incurring 
guilt when death seemed to be so near." 

At daybreak land was discovered about eight leagues 
distant so that in case the ship foundered there was 
hope of escape. Fortunately the ship held together, 
but it was not until she had been lightened to nearly 
fifty tons that there appeared any chance of floating 
her. In spite of constant working at the pumps the 
water continued to pour in the great leak in her hull, 
and it was feared that even though she might be 
floated off the reef by the midnight tide, she would 
founder immediately in deep water. To the surprise 
of all, she righted herself by the slow rise of water, 
and by ten o'clock heaved into deep water. The leak- 
age did not increase, although there was three feet nine 
inches of water in the hold, and the men at the pumps 
gained so considerably that by the following morning 
the ship was out of danger and by evening safely 
anchored about seven leagues from the shore. 

Not until five days later, however, June 17, was a 
safe harbor found where the damage could be repaired. 
The *' Endeavor" was then hauled over for repairs. 

''One of the holes," says Cook, ''which was big 
enough to have sunk us, if we had had eight pumps 



48 The Seventh Continent 

instead of four, and had been able to keep them in- 
cessantly going, was in a great measure, plugged up by 
the fragment of the rock, which, after having made the 
wound, was left sticking in it, so that the water which 
at first gained upon our pumps, was what came in at 
the interstices between the stone and the edges of the 
hole that received it." 

While the ship was undergoing repairs the naturalist 
and botanist of the expedition made excursions into 
the inland and reported that almost every plant and 
animal was new to them. A shooting party saw for 
the first time the quadruped called by the natives the 
Kangaroo, and hitherto unknown to European natural- 
ists. Cook himself described this peculiar animal as 
resembling a greyhound of light mouse colour, with a 
long tail, and which he should have mistaken for a wild 
dog, had not its extraordinary manner of leaping in- 
stead of running, convinced him of the contrary. A 
young Kangaroo, however, was found to be most ex- 
cellent eating. A sailor also saw a large black bat 
which he described to be the size of **a one gallon Keg 
or very like it." 

The explorers left this harbor August 5th, and steered 
a northeast course, through shoals and coral reefs until 
a week later they reached a headland to which they gave 
the name of Cape Flattery. Struggling into deep water, 
they thought their troubles were over after having been 
entangled in the reefs for a period of three months, 
but in this they were mistaken, as the wind abated and 
the tides drove them once more on to the dangerous 
reefs. The destruction of the ''Endeavor" in the tre- 
mendous surf that beat against the coast seemed in- 
evitable, when a narrow opening was seen at no great 



Captain Cook^s First Voyage to the Southern Sea 49 

distance, through which Captain Cook safely steered 
his ship. Upon this narrow passage was bestowed the 
name of Providential Channel. 

Cook finding himself a second time in the reef, con- 
cluded to take advantage of his misfortune by follow- 
ing the coast and to settle the moot question *' whether 
New Holland and New Guinea were separate islands." 
The latter he found to be the case, and to the channel 
which divides them he gave the name of his sturdy 
ship, Endeavor Strait. Landing upon a small island 
he took possession of it in the name of the British 
crown. The eastern coast of New Holland, from lati- 
tude 38° to latitude 10%° South, he gave the name of 
New South Wales. 

Coasting along New South Wales for two days the 
ship held due north. Having established the fact that 
New Guinea was distinct from New Holland, he next 
proceeded westward toward the Sunda Islands. 

October found the ** Endeavor" off the coast of Java. 
The navigators having refitted at Batavia proceeded by 
way of the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Town, anchor- 
ing off St. Helena, and later reached Deal June 12, 1771, 
having been absent from England two years and eleven 
months. 



CHAPTER III 

THE LATER VOYAGES OF CAPTAIN COOK 

CAPTAIN Cook received his appointment to com- 
mand the second voyage into the Southern Sea 
November 28, 1771. The '^ Resolution " and ''Ad- 
venture,'* the latter under Captain Furneaux, were 
the ships chosen for this voyage, upon the results of 
which England lay great store. This expedition was 
planned on the most extensive scale ever before at- 
tempted in the history of navigation. His instructions 
not only included the circumnavigation of the globe, 
but the circumnavigation in high southern latitudes, 
''making such traverses from time to time, into every 
corner of the Pacific Ocean not before examined, as 
might finally and effectually resolve the much agitated 
question about the existence of a southern continent 
in any part of the southern hemisphere, to which access 
could be had by the efforts of the boldest and most 
skillful navigation." 

It was not until the 13th of July the following year 
that the elaborate preparations for this extended voy- 
age were at last completed and Captain Cook weighed 
anchor and sailed from Plymouth. He touched at 
Madeira and at St. Jago, one of the Cape Verde Islands, 
and passed the tropics in the rainy season through 
rough and variable seas, the rain poured down "not 
in drops but in streams" and the result of such con- 

50 



The Later Voyages of Captai/n Cook 51 

ditions upon the ship's crew may easily be imagined. 
To insure their comfort and health Cook ordered fires 
to be built between decks, and took care that the ship 
should be aired and dried, and damp places below 
decks should be smoked. These sanitary methods to- 
gether with the strict enforcement of the rule that 
clothes and bedding should be aired and dried whenever 
the opportunity offered, resulted in preventing sickness 
among the men during this trying and torrid period. 

On the 8th of September Captain Cook crossed the 
line in longitude 8° West, and pursued his course with- 
out incident until the 11th of October ''when at 6 h. 
24 min. by Mr. Kendall's watch the moon rose about 
four digits eclipsed; soon after which the gentlemen 
prepared to observe the end of the eclipse." 

While approaching the Cape of Good Hope, on the 
night of the 29th ''the whole sea within the compass 
of their sight became illuminated. The captain had 
been formally convinced that such appearances in the 
ocean were occasioned by insects. To determine the 
question, our commander ordered some buckets of water 
to be drawn up from alongside the ship, which were 
found full of an innumerable quantity of small globular 
insects, about the size of a common pin's head, and 
quite transparent. Though no life was perceived in 
them, there could be no doubt of their being living 
animals, when in their own proper element, and we be- 
came well satisfied that they were the cause of the 
sea's illumination." 

The "Resolution" and "Adventure" came to anchor 
in Table Bay and upon landing Captain Cook and Cap- 
tain Furneaux with others were informed by Baron 
Plattenburg, who was then governor of the Cape of 



52 The Seventh Continent 

Good Hope, that two French ships from Mauritius had 
discovered land about eight months before in latitude 
48° along which they had sailed for a distance of forty 
miles. Captain Cook was also informed that two other 
ships under the command of M. Marion, were then on 
their way to the Pacific Ocean for the purpose of mak- 
ing discoveries. 

Impatient to be on his way, Cook made all haste to 
provision his ship and sailed on November 22nd direct- 
ing his course for Cape Circumcision, so named by 
its discoverer Bouvet. Cold weather was not long in 
coming, followed by high winds and gales, *' attended 
with hail and rain, which blew at times with such vio- 
lence that the ships could carry no sails, and were 
driven far to the eastward of their intended course, 
and no hopes were left to the Captain of reaching Cape 
Circumcision." 

The rapid transition from the tropics to bleak cold 
had rapidly killed the livestock, consisting of sheep, 
hogs and geese, and this loss was a particularly unfor- 
tunate one as it reduced the future allowance of fresh 
meat. 

On December 10th, 1772, the voyagers for the first 
time encountered islands of ice, "much concealed from 
them by the haziness of the weather, accompanied with 
snow and sleet." The captain on account of these "ice 
islands" was obliged to proceed with the utmost cau- 
tion. Six were passed, "flat at the top," with perpen- 
dicular sides of great height, against which the sea 
dashed with great violence, some were nearly two miles 
in circumference and nearly sixty feet high; "never- 
theless, such were the force and height of the waves, 
that the sea broke quite over them." "Hence was ex- 



The Later Voyages of Captam Cook 53 

hibited a view that for a few moments was pleasing to 
the eye, but the pleasure was soon swallowed up in the 
horror which seized upon the mind from the prospect 
of danger.'* 

Four days later the ships were stopped by an im- 
mense field of low ice, to which no limits could be seen, 
** either to the east, west, or south." Some of the 
people aboard claimed to see land over the ice, and at 
first Captain Cook was of a mind to agree with them. 
The weather was particularly hazy and the cold began 
to tell upon the strength of the seamen. Fearing that 
they would become fast in the ice. Cook directed his 
course so as to skirt the dangerous situation, never- 
theless they were carried along for a considerable dis- 
tance amid the ice islands, through fog and haze, al- 
ways in imminent danger of destruction, but the 
intrepid commander preferred this to the possibility 
of becoming permanently embayed in the great field. 

Cook determined that if possible he would run thirty 
or forty leagues to the east and afterward endeavor 
to get to the southward. By the 29th he was satisfied 
that the ice fields he had encountered did not join any 
land as had at first been supposed. At this juncture 
his seamen began to show the dread symptoms of 
scurvy. On the last day of the year a terrific gale 
nearly drove them to their destruction upon the ice, 
but to the joy of all on Friday, the 1st of January, 1773, 
the gale abated and on the following afternoon, "our 
people had the felicity of the sight of the moon, the 
face of which had not been seen by them but once since 
they had departed from the Cape of Good Hope.'* 
Hence a judgment may be formed of the sort of weather 
they had been exposed to from the time of their leaving 



54 The Seventh Continent 

that place. 

Cook was now nearly in the same lon^tude assigned 
to Cape Circumcision, reported by Bouvet as being in 
54° 15' S., 6° 11' E., but which is really in 54° 
26' S., 3° 24' E. Through this error in calculation 
he failed to find this land and continued to the east- 
ward until, on March 17th, he reached 59° 7' South lati- 
tude, 146° 53' East longitude, when he changed his 
course and bore to the north. 

Captain Cook's purpose now was to temporarily aban- 
don high southern latitudes and shape his course for 
New Zealand. The ''Adventure" had become separated 
from the ''Resolution" and in a high gale some days 
before, and anxiety on her account made him anxious 
to search for her at some point of rendezvous. He had 
had thoughts of visiting the east coast of Van Dieman's 
Land in order to satisfy himself whether or not it 
joined the coast of New South Wales. But contrary 
winds making this plan not feasible he steered directly 
for New Zealand and arrived in Dusky Bay April 17th. 
He had now been one hundred and seventeen days at 
sea, during which time he had sailed three thousand 
six hundred and sixty leagues without having once come 
within sight of land. 

Compared with the elimination of time and distance 
of modem methods of navigation this is an extraor- 
dinary exhibition of perseverance, determination and 
endurance. 

*' After so long a voyage in high southern latitudes," 
writes a chronicler of this remarkable journey, "it 
might reasonably have been expected that many of 
Captain Cook's people would be ill of the scurvy. This, 
however, was not the case. So salutary were the effects 



The Later Voyages of Captain Cook 55 

of the sweetwort and several articles of provision, and 
especially of the frequent airing and sweetening of 
the ship, that there was only one man on board who 
could be Said to be much afflicted with the disease." 

By the latter part of March the ''Eesolution" swung 
at anchor in Dusky Bay. Communication with the 
natives was established and the men employed their 
time in seal hunting, which supplied them with fresh 
meat so desirable after a long voyage, and furs for 
clothing. Upon leaving Dusky Bay the ' * Eesolution " 
steered for Queen Charlotte's Sound, where Cook ex- 
pected to find the ''Adventure.'' 

During the passage a peculiar phenomenon was wit- 
nessed when one day the ''wind at once flattened to a 
calm, the sky became suddenly obscured by dark dense 
clouds, and there was every prognostication of a 
tempest." Soon after, six water-spouts were seen, four 
of which rose and spent themselves between the ship 
£ind the land; the fifth was at a considerable distance 
on the other side of the vessel, and the sixth, the pro- 
gressive motion of which was not in a straight but in 
a crooked line, passed within fifty yards of the stern 
of the "Resolution," without producing any evil effect. 
"As the captain had been informed that the firing of 
a gun would dissipate water-spouts, he was sorry that 
he had not tried the experiment. But though he was 
near enough, and had a gun ready for the purpose, his 
mind was so deeply engaged in viewing these extraor- 
dinary meteors, that he forgot to give the necessary 
directions." 

The following day Cook had the satisfaction of re- 
joining the "Adventure" after an absence of fourteen 
weeks. Captain Furneaux after the separation of the 



56 The Seventh Continent 

ships, finding it impossible to locate the ''Endeavor/' 
took the opportunity of examining the coast of Van 
Diemen's Land and reported to Captain Cook that no 
straits existed between this land and New Holland 
(Australia) but a very deep bay. 

Cook now determined to pursue his researches to 
the east. By the first of August he was in latitude 
25° 1' and longitude 134° 6' West, the situation as- 
signed by Carteret for Pitcairn's Island discovered by 
him in 1767. Cook looked in vain for the island, but 
probably passed it some fifteen leagues to the west. 

By the time the ships had reached an anchorage in 
Matavia Bay the sick list of the two ships numbered 
over twenty. Upon landing Cook and his party secured 
such fresh provisions as could be obtained from the 
natives, visited the spot where the observations of the 
transit of Venus had been taken in 1769 and communi- 
cated with many of his old friends among the natives. 

By December 1773, he had prepared himself for his 
second advance into high southern latitudes. The first 
ice island was encountered on the 12th of December, 
considerably farther south than the first ice met with 
after leaving the Cape of Good Hope. At 67° 5' South 
they found themselves surrounded by the ice islands, 
and navigated with extreme difficulty through quanti- 
ties of loose pieces. They spent Christmas day in the 
same precarious surroundings that they had experienced 
one year before^ — but weather conditions proved more 
favorable and the ship's company experienced con- 
tinual daylight instead of the thick foggy weather of 
the previous year. 

At 71° 10' South latitude and 106° 54' West longi- 
tude he encountered such an impenetrable ice field, 



The Later Voyages of Captain Cooh 57 

where no less than ninety-seven ice hills were in sight 
at one time, that his progress was completely blocked. 
Some English writers claim that Cook discovered the 
Antarctic continent at this date, January 30th, 1774, 
but Cook himself gives no assurances that he saw land, 
although indications of land in the vicinity might have 
induced this surmise, by the fact that penguins were 
heard, though not seen. Cook writes that he saw ' ' Few 
other birds, or any other thing that could induce us 
to think any land was near. And yet," he writes, **I 
think there must be some land to the south behind the 
ice." 

Having advanced as far as he could that season. 
Captain Cook now turned his attention to the search 
for Australis Incognita reported to have been discovered 
by Juan Fernandez. 

We find this intrepid explorer once more making an 
effort to reach the far south in January 1775, this 
time from Staten Island, with a view * ' in the first place, 
of discovering that extensive coast, laid down by Mr. 
Dalrymple in his chart, in which is the Gulf of St. 
Sebastian. ' ' In order to have all other parts before him, 
the captain designed to make the western point of that 
gulf. As he had some doubt of the existence of such 
a coast, this appeared to him the best route for de- 
termining the matter, and for exploring the southern 
part of this ocean. When he came to the situation 
assigned to the different points of the Gulf of St. 
Sebastian, neither land nor any unequivocal signs of 
land were discovered. On the contrary, it was evi- 
dent, that there could not be any extensive tract of 
country in the direction which had been supposed. On 
the 14th of January, in 53° 56' South latitude, and 39° 



58 The Seventh Continent 

24' West longitude land was seen, which in all probabil- 
ity was that seen by Amerigo Vespucci, and later by La 
Roche. Cook anchored at this island and taking posses- 
sion of it in the name of his King, renamed it the Isle 
of Georgia. From thence he proceeded eastward again, 
and on the last day of January he discovered Sandwich 
Land in 59° South latitude, 20° West longitude and on 
the same day sighted another coast to which he gave 
the name of Southern Thule. 

Thus Captain Cook had proved that the extensive 
coast laid down by Dalrymple's chart of the ocean be- 
tween Africa and America and the Gulf of St. Sebas- 
tian did not exist. 

It was Cook's firm opinion that there was a tract of 
land near the pole, which was the source of most of the 
ice spread over the Southern Ocean. ''He also thought, 
it probable, that this land must extend farthest to the 
north, where it is opposite to the Southern Atlantic and 
Indian Oceans," writes a contemporary. ''Ice had al- 
ways been found by him farther to the north in these 
oceans, than anywhere else, and this he judged could 
not be the case, if there were not land of considerable 
extent to the south. However, the greatest southern 
continent, if it actually exists, must lie within the polar 
circle, where the sea is so encumbered with ice, that 
the land is rendered inaccessible. So great is the risk 
which is run, in examining a coast in these unknown 
and icy seas, that our commander, with a modest and 
well-grounded boldness, could assert, that no man would 
ever venture farther than he had done, and the lands 
which may lie to the south will never be explored. 
Thick fogs, snow storms, intense cold, and everything 
beside, that can render navigation dangerous, must be 



The Later Voyages of Captam Cook 59 

encountered, all which difficulties are greatly heightened 
by the inexpressibly horrid aspect of the country. It 
is a country doomed by nature never once to feel the 
warmth of the sun's rays, but to lie buried in everlast- 
ing snow and ice. Whatever ports there may be on 
the coast, they are almost entirely covered with frozen 
snow of a vast thickness. If, however, any one of them 
should be so far open as to invite a ship into it, she 
would run the risk of being fixed there forever, or of 
coming out in an ice island. To this may be added 
that the islands and floats on the coast, the great falls 
from the ice cliffs in the port, or a heavy snow storm, 
attended with a sharp frost might be equally fatal. 

''Nothing could exceed the inclination of Captain 
Cook, if it had been practicable, to penetrate farther 
to the south," continues the narrator, "but the diffi- 
culties like these were not to be surmounted. If he had 
risked aU that had been done during the voyage, for 
the sake of discovering and exploring a coast, which, 
when discovered and explored would have answered no 
end whatever or have been of the least use either to 
navigation or geography, or indeed of any other science, 
he would justly have been charged with inexcusable 
temerity. ' ' 

In the light of modern discoveries this argument is 
particularly illuminating. To Captain Cook must be 
accorded the merit of the first circumnavigation of the 
South Polar regions which closes forever the chapter 
in Antarctic history, which through a legendary belief 
accorded a great Terra Australis Incognita to the north 
of 60° South latitude. 

Captain Cook after passing Southern Thule sighted 
on February 1st Cape Montagu, and the Candlemas 



60 The Seventh Continent 

Isles. After another vain search for Bouvet Island he 
returned to the Cape and sailed for England. 

**In a certain sense," comments Balch, in his mono- 
graph ''Antarctica" (Page 72), on the results of 
Cook 's second voyage, ' * the outcome was negative, in 
that Antarctica was not discovered, a fact which would 
seem to rank the voyage of Cook as of much less im- 
portance than the voyage of Wilkes. With that single 
exception, however, perhaps no one achieved such great 
geographical results in south polar regions as Cook, and 
it is possibly not going too far to assign him the second 
place among Antarctic explorers." 

Upon Cook's return the success of his voyage, and 
the renown which accrued to him through his intelligent 
administration of sanitary laws for the preservation of 
the health of his crew was rewarded by the Admiralty 
in a promotion to the position of post captain, to be 
followed shortly after by a still more substantial mark 
of approbation of the English government in his ap- 
pointment as Captain in Greenwich Hospital. 

In February he was unanimously elected to the Royal 
Society. In a paper read before the Society, Captain 
Cook described the method taken to preserve the health 
of the crew of her Majesty's ship ''Resolution," during 
the long voyage round the world. A second paper read 
at a later date related the observation of the tides in 
the South Seas. Captain Cook received the still greater 
honor of being elected to become a common member 
of the Royal Society and received the gold medal for 
the experimental paper of the year. 

In the light of modern methods for the preservation 
of health in high latitudes this first exhibition of 
thoughtful appreciation for the bodily wants of seamen, 



The Later Voyages of Captain Cook 61 

which had greatly impressed the members of that 
Scientific body, is of especial interest. 

In his remarks, Sir John Pringle, President of the 
Royal Society, comments on the extraordinary results 
produced by these precautions: 

** Captain Cook," he said, **with a company of a 
hundred and eighteen men performed a voyage of three 
years and eighteen days, throughout all the climates, 
from fifty-two degrees north to seventy-one degrees 
south, with the loss of only one man by sickness. I 
would not inquire," he proceeds, "of the most con- 
versant in the study of bills of mortality, whether, in 
the most healthful climate, and in the best condition 
of life, they have ever found so small a number of 
deaths, within that space of time? How great and 
agreeable then must our surprise be, after pursuing the 
histories of long navigations in former days, when so 
many perished by marine diseases, to find the air of 
the sea acquitted of all malignity; and, in fine, that 
a voyage round the world may be undertaken with less 
danger, perhaps, to health, than a common tour in 
Europe." 

In quaint and terse language Captain Cook enumer- 
ates the several courses to which ** under the care of 
Providence," he attributes the uncommon good state 
of health of his crew. 

*'We were furnished with a quantity of malt," he 
writes, "of which was made sweet wort. To such of the 
men as showed the least sjanptoms of the scurvy, and 
also to such as were thought to be threatened with that 
disorder, this was given, from one to two or three pints 
a day, each man; or in such proportion as the surgeon 
found necessary, which sometimes amounted to three 



62 The Seventh Continent 

quarts. This is, without doubt, one of the best anti- 
scurbutic sea medicines yet discovered, and if used in 
time, will, with proper attention to other things, I am 
persuaded, prevent the scurvy from making any great 
progress for a considerable while. But I am not alto- 
gether of opinion that it will cure at sea. 

* * Sour-krout, of which we had a large quantity, is 
not only a wholesome vegetable food, but, in my judg- 
ment, highly anti-scurbutic ; and it spoils not by keep- 
ing. A pound of this was served to each man, when 
at sea, twice a week, or oftener as was thought neces- 
sary. 

"Portable broth was another great article of which 
we had a large supply. An ounce of this to each man, 
or such other proportion as circumstances pointed out, 
was boiled in their peas, three days in a week ; and when 
we were in places where vegetables are to be got, it was 
boiled with them, and wheat or oatmeal every morning 
for breakfast, and also with pease and vegetables for 
dinner. It enabled us to make several nourishing and 
wholesome messes, and was the means of making the 
people eat a greater quantity of vegetables, than they 
would otherwise have done." 

Captain Cook refers to the importance of "Kob of 
Lemon and Orange'' and sugar as an anti-scurbutic. 
He refers to the importances of keeping *' their per- 
sons, hammocks, bedding, clothes, etc., constantly clean 
and dry.'' He disapproved of giving to the men "the 
fat which boiled out of the salt beef and pork," which 
compound seems to have been previously considered a 
wholesome, if unpalatable, diet, and he prophetically 
remarks : 

"Whatever may be the public judgment about other 



The Later Voyages of Captam Cook 63 

matters, it is with real satisfaction and without claim- 
ing any merit, but that of attention to my duty, that 
I can conclude this account with an observation, which 
facts enable me to make, that our having discovered 
the possibility of preserving health among a numerous 
ship's company, for a length of time, in such varieties 
of climate, and amidst such continued hardships and 
fatigues, will make this voyage remarkable, in the opin- 
ion of every benevolent person, when the disputes about 
the southern continent shall have ceased to engage the 
attention, and to divide the judgment of philosophers. ' ' 

The object of his third and last voyage to the Pacific 
undertaken in 1776 was to find a more direct route to 
Japan and China than by the tedious circuit of the 
Cape of Good Hope. He was ordered to proceed into 
the Pacific Ocean, through the chain of the new islands 
which had been visited by him in the southern tropic 
and after crossing the equator into the northern parts 
of that ocean, **he was to hold such a course as might 
probably fix many points in geography, and produce 
intermediate discoveries, in his progress northward^ to 
the principal scene of his operations.'' 

The ''Resolution" and ''Discovery" were overhauled 
and refitted and with the latter in command of Captain 
Clark, they sailed for the Cape of Good Hope July 
12, 1776. Touching at Teneriffe, Captain Cook pro- 
ceeded without incident to the Cape, which he reached 
October 18th. Cook's intention was to proceed to New 
Zealand "to take in wood and water and provide hay 
for the cattle." 

By January 12th he stood in 48° 40' South latitude 
and 110° 26' east longitude. By the 24th "we dis- 
covered Van Diemens Land, bearing north % West." 



64 The Seventh Continent 

On the 20th Cook had anchored in Adventure Bay. 
'^ Captains Cook and Clerke then went, in separate 
boats, in search of convenient spots for wooding, water- 
ing and making hay." 

**In the evening we drew the seines, and caught a 
great quantity of fish, with which this bay abounds, 
and we should have procured more, if the net had not 
broken. ' ' 

*'We had observed columns of smoke in different 
parts from time to time of our approaching the coast; 
but we saw none of the natives till the afternoon of the 
28th, when eight men and a boy surprised us with a 
visit. . . . They were entirely naked," continues the 
narrative, ^'with large punctures or ridges, some in 
curved and others in straight lines, on different parts of 
their bodies. Their faces were painted with red oint- 
ment, and most of them smeared their hair and beards 
with the same composition. When we offered them 
presents they received them without any apparent satis- 
faction. They either returned, or threw away, some 
bread that was given them, without even tasting it; 
they likewise refused some elephant fish; but when we 
gave them some birds, they kept them. Two pigs hav- 
ing been brought in shore to be left in the woods, they 
seized them by the ears, and seemed inclined to carry 
them off with an intention, as we supposed, of killing 
them. Captain Cook wishing to know the use of the 
stick which one of the savages held in his hand, made 
signs to them to shew him; upon which one of them 
took aim at a piece of wood placed as a mark, about 
the distance of twenty yards ; but after several essays, 
he was still wide of the mark. Omai, to shew the great 
superiority of our weapons, immediately fired his 



The Later Voyages of Captain Cook 65 

musquet at it, which unexpected noise so alarmed them,l 
that they ran into the woods with uncommon speed, 
and one of them was so terrified, that he let fall two 
knives and an axe which he had received from us. They 
then went to the place where the crew of the Dis- 
covery were watering; but the officer of their party 
firing a musquet in the air, they fled with great pre- 
cipitation. ' ' 

The stay at Van Diemens Land, in the most southern 
point then known of Australia or New Holland as it 
was then called was occupied in a more intimate study 
of the natives and fauna of the then little known coun- 
try. 

Tasman had discovered it in 1642, but little was 
known concerning it until Captain Furneaux touched 
there in 1773. His report was not extensive and Cap- 
tain Cook's study of its natural history was the most 
extensive since its discovery. 

They left Van Diemens Land the last of January and 
descried the more familiar coast of New Zealand on 
February 7th. 

"Curiosities, fish and women, were the articles of 
commerce supplied by the New Zealanders. The two 
first always came to a good market, but the latter did 
not happen, at this time, to be an acceptable com- 
modity. ' ' 

A great addition of knowledge was obtained during 
this voyage, with respect to the productions of New 
Zealand, the manners and customs of its inhabitants. 

After leaving New Zealand the ships did not see land 
until the latter part of March when the island of 
Mangeea was sighted. 

From this time on the ships cruised among the vari- 



66 The Seventh Continent 

ous neighboring islands, accumulating a vast amount 
of information which had not been possible to acquire 
on previous voyages. The islands visited included 
Harvey Island, discovered by Captain Cook on his 
voyage around the world in 1773, and the Friendly 
Islands. In April he touched at the Island of Komango, 
and later arrived at Annamooka. ' ' The station he took 
was the very same which he had occupied when he 
visited the country three years before ; and it was prob- 
ably almost in the same place where Tasman, the first 
discoverer of this and some neighboring islands, 
anchored in 1643." 

Captain Cook remained in the vicinity of the 
Friendly Islands for nearly three months during which 
time there existed the utmost cordiality between the 
English and the natives. 

He visited Otaheita and upon his arrival in Natavia 
Bay, the natives who had known him on the previous 
occasions'^ of his visits greeted him with the utmost 
friendship. The last of the Society Islands to be visited 
by Cook was Bolabola, the 8th of December, 1777. 

Seventeen months had now elapsed since his depar- 
ture from England, chiefly spent in acquiring knowledge 
and information concerning the strange inhabitants of 
those remote islands which lay within the gleam of the 
Southern Cross. 

Cook's third journey in these southern latitudes may 
be considered as purely supplementary to his previous 
voyages. This was not an Antarctic expedition, but one 
destined particularly to high northern latitudes, yet it 
records a vast amount of toil and enthusiasm for re- 
search, and there is a certain pathos in the reflection 
that the gallant Cook, whose southern voyages had in- 



1 



The Later Voyages of Captain Cook 67 

stigated a new era in Antarctic discoveries, was viewing 
the islands he had discovered for the last time. He 
seems to have lingered in the Southern Pacific from 
love of the scenes of his former triumph, yet, writes 
his biographer, ''he was sensible that, with respect to 
the principal object of his instructions, it was now 
only the commencement of his voyage, and that there- 
fore, his attention was to be called anew to every cir- 
cumstance which might contribute towards the safety 
of his people, and the ultimate success of the expedi- 
tion." 

When this had been accomplished we find him Janu- 
ary 2nd, 1778 steering northward. He pursued a steady 
though leisurely course toward accomplishing the great 
purpose of his voyage, discovering and pausing at new 
land marks in the mighty southern ocean. 

Cook was going steadily but surely to his death, and 
though he knew it not, there seems to be a suspicion 
of regret that his course should be steered beyond the 
limits of the Southern Cross. Cook was the greatest 
navigator of his age — one might safely say of all ages. 

Slowly the ships sailed onward, past the equator and 
by the month of March sighted the long-looked for 
coast of New Albion while in 44° 33' North latitude, and 
235° 20' East longitude. Steadily northward we find 
the two ships sailing on, with the fixed purpose to make, 
if possible, the passage of the Ice Sea. From Behring 
Strait to Baffin's Bay, ''every day the ice increased so 
as to preclude all hopes of attaining, at least during the 
present voyage, the grand object of the voyage. Yet 
this intrepid mariner was only turned back at Icy 
Cape, where he found the forces of the ice too great 
for even his powers to conquer them. 



68 The Seventh Continent 

**It reflects/' writes one commentator, *'the highest 
honour on the British name, that our great navigator 
extended his discoveries much farther in one expedi- 
tion, and at so great a distance from the point of his 
departure, than the Russians accomplished in a long 
series of years, and in parts belonging or contiguous to 
their own empire." 

On the 2nd of October, 1778, Cook reached the island 
of Oonalaska on the return voyage ; he pursued his usual 
method of carefully cruising along the coast and mark- 
ing the new or little known coast line. 

Cook directed his course toward the Sandwich Islands 
whence he intended to go to Kamchatka, which he 
proposed to reach by the middle of May of the ensuing 
summer. By November he sighted an island in latitude 
20° 55' North to which he gave the name of Mowee. It 
proved to be one of the Sandwich group. Another 
island sighted two days later was called by the natives 
Ouyhee and Cook spent nearly seven weeks in sailing 
round and examining its coast. The natives came off 
in canoes and traded with the crew. It is recorded that 
on the 16th of January 1779, canoes arrived in such 
numbers from all parts, that there were not fewer than 
a thousand about the two ships, most of them crowded 
with people, and laden with hogs and other produc- 
tions of the island. 

While in Karakakova Bay the natives had seemed per- 
fectly amicable — but showed a propensity for inquisitive- 
ness and thieving which while particularly annoying was 
patiently borne by the English. The native chiefs, how- 
ever, became distrustful, and after the forced return 
of the ships through an accident sustained by heavy 
gales upon their leaving port the natives put them under 



1 



The Later Voyages of Captain Cooh 69 

a taboo with great solemnity. 

While the English ships were undergoing repairs the 
feeling of dislike toward the foreign visitors seemed to 
increase among the natives and certain disagreeable en- 
counters ashore resulted in the complete severance of 
pleasant relations. The outcome was an unforeseen 
attack upon the gallant Captain who was brutally mur- 
dered by the natives in cold blood. 

Thus ended the life of a most extraordinary man. 
Like Magellan, he met his melancholy end at the hands 
of savages he had befriended, and like him the sud- 
denness and unexpectedness of their treachery gave 
him no chance of escaping with his life. 

Of his character there are many laudatory tributes, 
and England has ever held his name in reverence for 
the glory he brought to her flag by his discoveries. In 
the homage due his memory a contemporary of his 
writes in an eulogium: 

** Traveller! contemplate, admire, revere, and emu- 
late this great master in his profession; whose skill 
and labours have enlarged natural philosophy, have 
extended nautical science and have disclosed the long 
3oncealed and admirable arrangements of the Almighty 
in the formation of this globe, and, at the same time, 
the arrogance of mortals, in presuming to account, by 
their speculations, for the laws by which He was pleased 
to create it. It is now discovered, beyond all doubt, 
that the same great Being who created the universe 
by His fiat, by the same ordained our earth to keep a 
just poise, without a corresponding southern continent, 
md it does so. 'He stretcheth out the North over 

3MPTY PLACES, AND HANGETH THE EARTH UPON NOTH- 

:ng.' (Job XXVI. 7.)'^ 



CHAPTER IV 

EARLY AMERICAN ENTERPRISE IN ANTARCTIC DISCOVERY 

THE illusion that the legendary *' Terra Aus- 
tralis" existed north of 60° South had at last 
been permanently dispelled. The succeeding voy- 
ages made within the next few years did much to con- 
firm geographical location of islands already reported 
in far southern latitudes and added through discovery 
others of more or less importance to the map. 

The Aurora Islands discovered in 1762 by the ship 
''Aurora," were visited by the Spanish corvette 
"Atrexoida" in 1794 for the purpose of survey which 
reported three in number, the most southern being in 
53° 15' South latitude. Other vessels, the ''Dolores" 
and "Princess," had sighted these islands in the years 
1779 and 1790 respectively. 

The first mention of American enterprise in Ant- 
arctic discovery is recorded in 1800 when Captain 
Swain, a Nantucket whaler, on his way from the Sand- 
wich Islands to Cape Horn ran far out of his course 
to the south and discovered an island in latitude 59° 
South and longitude 90° West "covered with snow and 
abounding with sea dogs." 

Another famous Nantucket sea captain, Richard 
Macy, a few years later reported seeing an island in 
59° South and 91° West, probably Swain Island. 

Two English whaling ships, the "Snow Swan" and 

70 



Early American Enterprise in Antarctic Discovery 71 

''Otter," reported sighting Bouvet Island in 1808 and 
charted its location in 54° 15' South latitude, 4° 15' 
East longitude. 

''The earliest phase of American Antarctic explora- 
tion was due to the ambitious energies of the Connecti- 
cut Whalers," writes General Greely, "whose commer- 
cial and professional instincts impelled them to seek an 
extension of profitable sealing grounds. As is well 
known, the daring pioneer voyages of American fisher- 
men successfully exploited in the 19th century even the 
most remote seas, and thus brought into our national 
coffers whaling products to the value of 332 millions of 
dollars from 1804 to 1876." 

Just before the breaking out of the war of 1812, an 
American expedition was organized for the purpose of 
discovery, in a voyage round the world, with Edmund 
Fanning as commander. The main object of this voyage 
was exploration in the southern hemisphere, and the 
two ships, "Volunteer" and "Hope" were outfitted 
with this object. They were on the point of sailing 
when war was declared and the voyage was conse- 
quently abandoned. 

Seven years later Edmund Fanning induced Cap- 
tain James P. Sheffield, and Supercargo William A. 
Fanning in the brig "Hersilia" to try a high southern 
latitude in search of good sealing grounds in 
the locality of Gherritz's discovery. Edmund Fan- 
ning had been in the spring of the year at South 
Georgia at the breaking up of the winter ice, and in 
passing to the eastward, brought up against the south- 
western coast of South Georgia, giving decisive evi- 
dence that extensive land did exist in that direction 
for "as numerous ice islands had formed at South 



72 The Seventh Continent 

Georgia, and drifted away to the eastward in these 
gales, it was certain that ice islands first spoken of, 
must have had land to form at or they could never 
have been in existence." 

"On the return of the brig," continues Edmund Fan- 
ning, ''they reported having touched at the Falklands, 
thence proceeded in search of the Aurora Islands; 
these were found to be three in number, each in the 
form of a sugar-loaf, but having no landing places, 
even for amphibious animals, on them. A number of 
birds about, with some shaggs, and white pigeons in 
the clefts, were all the living creatures discovered on 
them. The brig sailed around and between these islands 
without discovering any danger, except a reef which 
put off southwest, a short mile from the southernmost 
island. The centre island they place in latitude 52° 
58' South, longitude 51° West. 

"Leaving the Auroras, the brig's course was shaped 
westward for Staaten Land; from this, after taking on 
board wood and water, they steered to the south, on 
arriving in about the latitude of 63° South, at 1 p. m. 
they bore away east, under a good breeze from the south- 
ward, attended with clear weather; hove to when night 
closed in, during which many seals came swimming 
about the vessel ; these gave them strong hopes of being 
in the vicinity of land." 

The following day they descried to their great joy 
"a high and round mountain island" covered with 
snow, although it was February, the last summer month 
of this region. From its singular form they named 
this Mount Pisgah Island. 

"After passing Mount Pisgah Island, they arrived at 
the group last seen, and called them Fanning 's Islands; 



Early American Enterprise in Antarctic Discovery 73 

after sailing into a passage between the first two, they 
came to a harbor at the starboard island which was 
then named Eagged Island; and there anchored, 
calling it Hersilia Cove. From elevated positions 
they had discovered more land to the eastward, but 
as the season was drawing to a close, and they 
were anxious to hasten home and report the discov- 
ery of such vast numbers of seals to their friends 
in time for the next season, they had no leisure to 
visit or make a survey of it. After procuring several 
thousand skins of the choicest and richest furs, as the 
weather or climate would not admit of their drying 
them at this place, they were therefore not prepared 
with a sufficiency of salt for a full cargo, but calcu- 
lated to dry a part of the skins where they should take 
them ; thus with as many as they had salt to save, they 
left Ragged Island, leaving, according to their estima- 
tion, 50,000 fur seals. The ** Hersilia '* returned safely; 
to Stonington, and realized to her owners a very hand- 
some profit upon the sale of the vessel and her cargo/' 
''These islands had been seen," comments Fanning, 
''it appears, by a Captain Smith, in the English brig 
'William' some fifteen months prior to the arrival of 
the 'Hersilia' at them, while bound from Buenos Ayres 
to Valparaiso, and by him named the South Shetlands. 
But as Captain Gherritz after his discovery of this 
land in 1599, proceeded into the Pacific, and was there 
captured by the Spaniards and sent into Valparaiso, 
it is therefore likely that Captain Smith, who was 
then engaged in the freighting trade to Valparaiso, 
got a hint of the Dutch Captain's discovery from some 
Spanish source and then went to look for it and gave 
it an English name. . . . We Yankees might with more 



74 The Seventh Continent 

propriety, inasmuch as they had become obsolete, have 
considered our rediscovery of the Crozetts, after the 
long and tedious search had for them, as a discovery, 
and named them South Martha's Vineyard, or some- 
thing else. The 'Hersilia,' the first American vessel 
it is believed that visited them, did not presume to 
call the group or chain by any other name than that 
given by their first discoverer, viz., Gherritz's New 
Iceland. ' ' 

Greely writes: 

"The discovery of the South Shetlands promptly at- 
tracted a fleet of New England whalers, which estab- 
lished its base of operations at Deception Island, where 
seals were so plentiful that 50,598 sealskins were taken 
in one season, 1820-1821. The smallest vessel of the 
fleet was the sloop 'Hero,' 44.5 tons, commanded by 
a youth of 21 years, Captain Nathanial Brown Palmer. 
While at the lookout maintained on the volcanic crater 
near Yankee Harbor, one of the sealing captains, Ben- 
jamin Pendleton, on a clear day discovered snow-capped 
peaks outlined against the southern horizon. 

*' Realizing that the wholesale destruction of seals 
must soon exhaust the local supply, Captain Palmer in 
an interval of fine weather, sailed southward, in Jan- 
uary, 1821, to search for new fishing grounds. Reach- 
ing the new and hitherto unknown land, only some 70 
miles distant, Palmer skirted its northwestern coasts, 
which he found to be a mountainous, snow-covered 
region, entered several bays, and saw sea leopards, 
though finding no seals. His furthest point in that 
voyage was about 68° S. latitude, 59° W. longitude." 

** Palmer described the land that he had discovered 
to be an extensive mountainous country," writes Fan- 



Early American Enterprise in Antarctic Discovery 75 

ning, **more sterile and dismal, if possible, and more 
heavily loaded with ice and snow, than the South Shet- 
lands; there were sea leopards on its shores, but no 
fur seals. The main part of its coast was ice bound, 
although it was in midsummer of this hemisphere, and 
a landing was consequently difficult. '^ 

*'0n the * Hero's' return passage to Yankee Harbor," 
continues Fanning, ''she got becalmed in a thick fog 
between the South Shetlands and the newly discovered 
continent, but nearest the former. When this began to 
clear away. Captain Palmer was surprised to find his 
little barque between a frigate and a sloop of war, and 
instantly ran up the United States flag; the frigate and 
sloop of war then set the Russian colors. Soon after 
this a boat was seen pulling from the commodore's ship 
for the 'Hero,' and when alongside, the lieutenant pre- 
sented an invitation from his commodore for Captain 
P. to go on board; this of course was accepted. These 
ships he then found to be the two discovery ships sent 
out by the Emperor Alexander of Russia, on a voyage 
round the world. To the commodore's interrogatory if 
he had any knowledge of those islands then in sight, and 
what they were. Captain P. replied, he was well ac- 
quainted with them, and that they were the South 
Shetlands, at the same time making a tender of his 
services to pilot the ships into a good harbor at Decep- 
tion Island, the nearest by, where water and refresh- 
ment such as the island afforded could be obtained; 
he also informing the Russian officer that his vessel 
belonged to a fleet of five sail, out of Stonington, under 
command of Captain B. Pendleton, and then at anchor 
in Yankee Harbor, who would most cheerfully render 
any assistance in his power." 



76 The Seventh Continent 

This meeting with Bellingshausen is particularly in- 
teresting as it verifies the American claim for prior 
discovery, a disputed point with many authorities. 

Fanning continues: 

*'The commodore thanked him kindly, 'But previous 
to our being enveloped in the fog', said he, 'we had 
sight of those islands, and concluded we had made a 
discovery, but behold, when the fog lifts, to my great 
surprise, here is an American vessel apparently in as 
fine order as if it were but yesterday she had left the 
United States; not only this, but her master is ready 
to pilot my vessels into port; we must surrender the 
palm to you Americans,' continued he, very flatter- 
ingly. His astonishment was yet more increased," con- 
tinues the narrative, ''when Captain informed him of 
the existence of an immense extent of land to the south, 
whose mountains might be seen from the masthead 
when the fog should clear away entirely, 

"Captain Palmer, while on board the frigate was en- 
tertained in the most friendly manner and the com- 
modore was so forcibly struck with the circumstances 
of the case, that he named the coast then to the south 
Palmer's Land." 

"The following season, in 1821 and 1822," continues 
Fanning, "Captain Pendleton was again at Yankee 
Harbor, with the Stonington fleet; he then once more 
despatched Captain Palmer in the sloop 'James Mon- 
roe,' an excellent vessel of upwards of 80 tons, well 
calculated for such duties, and by her great strength 
well able to venture in the midst of and wrestle with 
the ice. Captain Palmer reported on his return, that 
after proceeding to the southward, he met ice fast and 
firmly attached to the shore of Palmer's Land; he 



Early American Enterprise vn Antarctic Discovery 77 

then traced the coast to the eastward, keeping as near 
the shore as the ice would suffer ; at times he was able 
to come along shore, at other points he could not ap- 
proach within from one to several miles, owing to the 
firm ices, although it was in December and January, 
the middle summer months in this hemisphere. In this 
way he coasted along this continent upwards of fifteen 
degrees, viz., from 64 and odd, down below the 49th 
of west longitude. The coast, as he proceeded to the 
eastward, became more clear of ice, so that he was able 
to trace the shore better; in 61° 41' South latitude, a 
strait was discovered which he named Washington 
Strait; this he entered and about a league within came 
to a fine bay which he named Monroe Bay; at the head 
of this was a good harbor; here they anchored, calling 
it Palmer's Harbor. The Captain landed on the beach 
among a number of those amphibious animals, the 
spotted, glossy looking sea leopard, and that rich golden 
colored noble bird, the king penguin; making their way 
through these, the Captain and party traversed the 
coast and country for some distance around, without 
discovering the least appearance of vegetation except- 
ing the winter moss. The sea leopards were the only 
animals found; there were, however, vast numbers of 
birds, several different species of the penguin. Port 
Egmont hens, white pigeons, a variety of gulls, and 
many kinds of oceanic birds; the valleys and gullies 
were mainly filled with those never dissolved icebergs, 
their square and perpendicular fronds several hundred 
feet in height glistening most splendidly in a variety 
of colors as the sun shone upon them. The mountains 
of the coast, as well as those to all appearance in the 
interior, were generally covered with snow, except when 



78 The Seventh Continent 

their black peaks were seen here and there peeping out.'* 
Subsequent voyages made by Palmer to high southern 
latitudes have not been recorded, but Dr. Webster of 
the '^ Chanticleer " describes meeting him near New 
Year's Harbor in 1829-30. 

*' Early on the following morning, Sunday, 25th Oc- 
tober, Captain Foster left us in quest of a harbour for 
the reception of the 'Chanticleer', while the pendulum 
experiments were going forward. After examining New 
Year's Harbour, which he did not approve of, in his 
way along the coast he discovered an American schooner 
at anchor in one of the creeks ; the name of the schooner 
was the 'Penguin' of Stonington (sic.) : and the recep- 
tion he met from Captain Palmer, who commanded her, 
was most kind. Captain Palmer immediately offered to 
conduct the 'Chanticleer' into the creek, which he had 
named North Port Hatchett. When he made his appear- 
ance on board the brig with Captain Foster, we took 
him for another Eobinson Crusoe in the shape of some 
shipwrecked mariner. He was a kind and good-hearted 
man, and thinking that they would be a treat to us, 
had brought with him a basket of albatross's eggs, which 
were to us a most acceptable present. How completely 
does this incident, trifling as it may appear, 
prove the justness of Captain Hall's observations in his 
useful little work entitled 'Fragments of Voyages', that 
it is the time and manner of making a present that gives 
all its value." 

J. N. Reynolds, a member of the United States Ex- 
ploring Expedition, made comment before Congress in 
the year 1836, that justice be given to Palmer for his 
discoveries. Mr. Reynolds had accompanied Palmer in 
the latter 's voyage during the years 1829-30 when the 



SEA LEOPARD 

Drawn from Nature by I. Weddell 



Early American Enterprise in Antarctic Discovery 79 

"Seraph" and ''Annawan" made a cruise northwest 
of Palmer's Land. Keynolds accompanied by two other 
scientists had sailed with Palmer; he says: 

"It was in company with this same Captain Palmer, 
during my later voyage to the South Seas, that I vis- 
ited the whole of this extensive group of islands lying 
north of the coast of Palmer's Land, the extent of 
which neither we nor any subsequent navigators have 
as yet ascertained; though a British vessel touched at 
a single spot in 1831, taking from it the American 
and giving it an English name" (i. e., Graham Land). 

Though Palmer never realized that he had discovered 
land of continental proportions, he was never accorded 
sufficient acknowledgment for the importance of his dis- 
covery. English authorities have practically ignored 
him, Edwin Balch, the American authority, acclaims 
him as "certainly the first explorer of the land lying 
south of Bransfield Strait, and extending for some 250 
kilometers (over 15 miles) between 57° 50' and 62° 20' 
West longitude ; that is, of the northern coasts of West 
Antarctica from Leige Island to Joinville Island, both 
inclusive." He also accords him the discovery of the 
northern end of Gerlache Strait, and Orleans Channel, 
and he adds: 

"This coast or these islands were christened Palmer 
Land, and they were so first charted in England, France, 
and America." 

This continued on the charts until 1831, when the 
"Enderby brothers of Great Britain," writes Greely, 
"one of whom was an influential Fellow of the Royal 
Geographical Society, fitted out an expedition under 
command of John Biscoe, a retired master of the Royal 
Navy, who visited the coasts of Palmer Land, whence 



80 The Seventh Continent 

resulted its replacement by Graham Land, renamed after 
the First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir James R. G. Gra- 
ham/' 

''Has not the time arrived," concludes Greely, ''when 
the glorious phase of American maritime history should 
receive full national recognition ? Every textbook teach- 
ing polar geography should contain the statement that 
the American captain, N. B. Palmer, first discovered 
parts of the continent of Antarctica, and on every 
official south-polar map should be replaced Palmer 
Land." 

Fanning describes a voyage of the American schooner 
"Pacific", Captain James Brown, who sailed on a seal- 
ing voyage to the South Seas, from Portsmouth, Octo- 
ber 1st, 1829. 

"November 14th," he writes, "she reached the Cape 
de Verde, and there took in salt and fresh provisions, 
and sailed for South Georgia, which she made on the 
29th December, 1829. Left Georgia March 5th, with 
256 skins, and 1800 gallons sea elephant oil on board. 
December 8th, 1830, latitude 56° 18' South, longitude 
28° 35' West, they discovered an island neither laid 
down on any chart, nor described by Cook or Bowditch. 
In clear weather, the land may be seen thirty miles off ; 
the island is two miles in circumference, resembling 
at a distance a high round lump ; Captain Brown named 
this Potter's Island. 

"Four days after, viz., on the 12th, a second island 
was discovered, having a mountain 800 feet high in 
the centre, from which, in several places, smoke was 
constantly issuing; it was covered with ice and snow; 
on the lower level part of the island was a deep stratum 
of lava disgorged from the volcano; this was of a 



^ar?2/ American Enterprise in Antarctic Discovery 81 

light brown color, and somewhat resembling brick when 
burnt to excess, extremely porous and fragile, and so 
light as to float on the water ; on the ocean in the vicin- 
ity of this island large masses of this were seen float- 
ing about; The seamen went on shore, and travelled 
over several portions of the island, examining the places 
whence issued the smoke; at these a slight degree of 
heat was perceptible; upon digging down in the earth 
several feet below the surface, the ground was found 
to be extremely dry. On this isolated spot are two 
stony beaches, and convenient landings. Five different 
species of the penguins were found here, as also wellys, 
spotted eaglets, sea hens, gulls, etc., in great abundance. 
This they named Prince's Island." 

Other islands are described as having been laid down 
on the chart for the first time by *'Mr. Prince, Cap- 
tain Brown's mate, an experienced seaman, who trav- 
ersed these waters in an English vessel twelve years 
ago." 

The largest icebergs seen by the ''Pacific" were ''three 
to four miles in length, two in breadth ajid from two 
to three hundred feet high and flat on top." 

"On the newly discovered islands," continues Fan- 
ning, "there was neither wood, timber, nor vegetables 
of any kind. On Bird's Island, the crew of the 'Pa- 
cific' killed a sea tiger, measuring eighteen feet; the 
skull and hide of one of these animals was brought 
home by them; the animal was seven feet in length, 
and girted three and a half when killed. The head is 
shaped like that of the common seal, except that it is 
more elongated, the sockets of the eyes, too, being deeper 
and broader. The skin is covered with a thick, fine, 
and short hair, on the back of a gray color, spotted 



82 The Seventh Continent 

with black and white on the abdomen; the flippers are 
short and strong; the animal moves with surprising 
velocity in the water, and in that element all its mo- 
tions are indicative of great strength; their chief food 
consists of penguins. 

**To catch these beautiful birds, when they are dis- 
covered at a distance, the tiger gets upon the windward 
side, and lies upon his back; in this position he floats 
upon the billows, with his head a little elevated, but 
all the while keeping his dark vigilant eye steadily 
fixed upon the ill fated object of his pursuit; as soon 
as he is sufficiently near to secure his prey, he turns 
suddenly upon his belly, cleaves the billows with aston- 
ishing swiftness, and the next moment is seen plunging 
in the water with a penguin, weighing at times from 
forty to sixty pounds, in his capacious jaws. 

*'The tiger possesses undaunted courage and shrewd- 
ness; they frequently chased the crew of the 'Pacific' 
while cruising in their boats. On one occasion, when 
two of the men were at a considerable distance, both 
from the shore and schooner, they were discovered by 
one of these animals, some twenty feet in length, and 
six in circumference, which instantly pursued the boat 
with all speed, and when within ten or twelve feet, 
leaped for it, exposing to view at the same time in the 
greatest rage, his sharp teeth. Failing in this attempt, 
he next essayed to upset the boat ; one of the party 
then lodged a ball in his body; this only served to in- 
crease the animal's rage, and in another attempt to 
spring into the boat, he would have succeeded but for 
a severe blow he received from a lance. Even after 
this, his courage and perseverance were unabated, and 
it seemed as if he had resolved that neither the power 



Early American Enterprise in Antarctic Discovery 83 

nor the weapons of man should prevail against him. 
When, however, the second and third balls were lodged 
in him, his efforts ceased, and he was overcome. 

"On another occasion, some of the crew were in the 
boat three miles from the schooner, when a large tiger 
was observed following in their wake; he betrayed no 
disposition to annoy them, but kept at a distance from 
the boat all the time; the seamen, unacquainted with 
his cunning, were induced to pursue him, but soon 
found their ignorance of the animal's character had 
betrayed them into very imminent danger, which they 
were now likely to pay very dearly for; the tiger 
waited their approach, and then commenced the battle, 
when the seamen instantly retreated for the vessel, and 
with the utmost difficulty succeeded in keeping him from 
upsetting them. 

*'Some of the sailors tasted the milk of the sea tiger, 
which they had killed, and found it excellent. By many 
persons it is supposed that the sea tiger and walrus 
are the same; but they differ in several particulars, 
such as the number, size, shape, and relative position 
of the teeth, as well as in the form of the head, which 
of the walrus bears a strong resemblance to that of the 
human species.'' 

The first half of the 19th century the South Sea 
fur trade continued particularly lucrative, and the 
Stonington sealers had repeatedly ventured to the bor- 
ders of the Antarctic Continent. Pendleton and Mor- 
rell were the most noted veterans in those exciting voy- 
ages. Captain Pendleton describes securing on one of 
these voyages *' 8,000 fur" and ''2,000 hair seals," and 
later took on board about 14,000 more in a single 
voyage. 



84 The Seventh Continent 

A curious accident befell the mariners while at New 
Island, one of the western Falklands, where the ship 
was moored while waiting for the completion of her 
cargo. 

*'At this time a party of men under command of 
the first officer, Mr. B. Pendleton, were out on a seal- 
ing excursion, and had at evening pitched their en- 
campment at a low island some twenty miles from the 
ship ; the surface of this island was covered with coarse 
grass growing in the tussuc bogs which are of various 
sizes, and spread near each other; the top of this grass 
is some feet above man's height, and the ground 
between the bogs covered with a thick layer of the 
dead grass, the growth of previous years, and so com- 
bustible withal, as when once on fire there is no pos- 
sibility of extinguishing it. On such excursions as this, 
the crew after hauling up and securing their boats fall 
to work to make a sleeping hut (or nest, as they call 
it) ; for this purpose two large bogs are chosen at a 
good distance apart, and the inner borders of the grass 
then cut down fairly so as it were to form the walls; 
after this, the tops of the grass on the inner margin 
of each bog are strongly tied together to form the roof; 
over this is placed a thatch of grass of sufficient thick- 
ness to keep out the rain, be it ever so violent; each 
end of the hut is then walled up tightly with portions 
of the bog, leaving at one end but a small , opening 
by which to enter the premises; this again, when the 
crew are in, is closed by means of a dried skin secured 
to its place with wooden pins, the interior having a 
layer of the dried grass to answer for beds, so that 
when in, the men sleep warm and comfortable and at 
times are rather loath to come out. These huts are 



Early American Enterprise in Antarctic Discovery 85 

placed as near each other as possible, or as the bogs 
will allow; while they are building, the cook makes 
his fire upon the beach, and prepares a supper of meat, 
with a cup of tea for each, all turning in after par- 
taking of the same except himself, who remains by 
the fire to extinguish it, and prepare breakfast in the 
morning. This our cook, a good natured, careful body, 
had always done; it appeared, however, that after ex- 
tinguishing his fire, he was in the habit, unknown to 
the officers, of enjoying a comfortable smoke of his pipe 
after retiring with his mess to their hut. He had so 
done on this occasion, and after supposing his pipe was 
out, had laid it at his head as usual, but had not got 
sound asleep before it was discovered that the grass was 
on fire, no doubt originating from a spark out of the 
pipe; unable to smother this, he awoke his shipmates 
to his assistance; their efforts failing, the officers were 
then called, who instantly alarmed the whole encamp- 
ment; from one of the rear huts a young man (B. S. 
Cutler) was one of the last to awake, by which time 
the flames had nearly reached them, and as he came 
out of the hut, not yet fairly awake, he became bewil- 
dered, and seeing the fire spreading around in front, 
retreated towards the interior of the island, but recov- 
ering his recollection he mounted to the top of one of 
the tussuc bogs to take a survey, whence observing him- 
self nearly surrounded by the flames, he concluded his 
shortest and safest way was to retrace his steps, and 
if possible, pass through the sheet of fire to the boats; 
this he proceeded to effect, but having over his other 
garments a frock highly charged with oil from the fat of 
blubber of the seal skins which he had worked in, he 
had not more than entered the flames before it took 



86 The Seventh Continent 

fire, so that by the time he had crossed the burning 
grass, all his clothes were burnt to a cinder, and his 
body and limbs completely roasted, so much so that 
after he had been plunged in the water and taken out, 
the skin cracked and came off with flesh attached to 
the remaining portions of the dress; having, however, 
taken care to hold one of his hands over his mouth and 
nose while in the flames, he had imbibed but little if 
any of it. 

* ' Mr. Pendleton having heard that oil and fresh skins 
of animals were a good application in giving relief 
from burns, directed several of the penguins then near 
by to be killed, and their skins to be taken off with 
about half an inch in thickness of the fat and flesh 
attached ; binding them in this state around the roasted 
body of the young man, an immediate relief from pain 
resulted from it, then preparing a litter, the young 
man was forthwith taken to the ship, where finding 
he had experienced so much benefit from the first appli- 
cation,'' writes Fanning, the narrator, *'I directed fresh 
skins to be brought from the shore, and in this way 
for ten days we replaced the dry and fresh skins twice 
in every twenty-four hours, the body the while being 
kept gently open, and the patient living on a light diet 
of gruel, soup, etc. No other application was made 
use of, and the rapidity of his recovery was truly 
astonishing, for a new skin like as of an infant grew 
over his person, and in one month's time he could move 
alone, about the deck, and shortly after attend to his 
duty again. Those skins (and would not those of any 
fat animal have the same healing effect?) were soft to 
his wounds, and kept him always free from pain, except 
at the time of removing and replacing them." 



Early American Enterprise in Antarctic Discovery 87 

Morrell, in the sealing schooner *'Wasp," reached the 
Falklands in October, 1822, made a fruitless search for 
the Auroras, and after touching at Bouvet Island, 
where he secured many seals, he extended his efforts 
to Kerguelen Island and later south and east and crossed 
the Antarctic circle February 1st in 64° 52' South lati- 
tude, 118° 27' East longitude. 

Twenty-three days later he was in the neighborhood 
of Sandwich Land, where he anchored for a brief stay. 
Proceeding south he reached March 14th, 70° 14' South 
latitude, 40° 3' West longitude, his farthest south. He 
now turned northwest, as he dared not remain longer, 
being short of water and fuel. In the afternoon of 
March 15th, 1823, *'we were close in with the eastern 
coast of the body of land to which Captain Johnson 
had given the name of New South Greenland." He 
skirted this coast for some distance, giving it as his 
opinion that ''if there be no more land to the south 
than that with which we are generally acquainted, the 
Antarctic seas must be much less obstructed by ice than 
is generally supposed; and that a clear sea is open for 
voyages of discovery even to the South Pole." 

Panning claims that the so-called New South Green- 
land was the land visited by Palmer and Pendleton, 
that which is now called West Antarctica. There seems 
to be a question as to Morrell as an authority, but in 
Sir R. V. Hamilton's defense of Morrell's statements 
he says: ''Whatever else Mr. Morrell might not have 
discovered, he was the first discoverer of guano in the 
islands of Ichaboe and Lobos. The speed of 120 miles 
a day, with which he made the voyage, was nothing 
uncommon as the sea was not encumbered with ice. Mr. 
Morrell was a sealer, not an educated man, and there- 



88 The Seventh Continent 

fore due allowance must be made for his errors. ' ' 

The Shetland Islands reported by Smith and whose 
change of name Fanning resented with so much spirit 
were visited January, 1820, by Mr. Edward Branfield 
in the brig ''Williams", who anchored in an extensive 
bay and as far as recorded was the first to land. He 
speaks of finding some stunted grasses and describes 
the coast line as "high, bold, and rugged." It is sup- 
posed he sighted Joinville Land, and the strait between 
South Shetland and Palmer Land is called after him. 

James Weddell was a master in the Royal Navy, in 
the employ of an Edinburgh firm to command an expe- 
dition, for the purpose of obtaining seal-skins in the 
southern seas. 

Weddell commanded the brig "Jane" and Mathew 
Brisbane the cutter "Beaufort." These vessels left 
England on the 17th September, 1822, and after touch- 
ing at one of the Cape Verde Islands, cast anchor the 
following December in a port called St. Helena on 
the eastern coast of Patagonia. Toward the last of 
December, Weddell put to sea again and on January 
12th came in sight of an archipelago in 60° 41' South 
latitude, 45° West longitude to which he gave the name 
of Southern Orkneys. Weddell describes this group of 
islands as particularly barren, sharp pointed rocks bare 
of vegetation rising on all sides, "round which surge 
the restless waves, and against which dash enormous 
floating icebergs, with a noise like thunder." 

Captain Weddell now made for the south, and after 
crossing the Antarctic Circle, he was surprised by a 
moderation in the temperature. He noted innumerable 
flocks of birds, and large schools of whales and every 
indication pointed to a large area of land not far dis- 




BRIG JANE AND CUTTER BEAUFORT PASSING THROUGH A CHAIN OF ICE 

ISLANDS 

From a sketch hy Capt. Weddell 



Early American Eriterprise in Antarctic Discovery 89 

tant, but though he pursued this course steadily south 
until February 20th, when he stood in 74° 15' South 
latitude and 34° 16' 45" East longitude, no land was 
discovered. 

**I would willingly have explored," says Weddell, 
' * the southwest quarter, but taking into consideration 
the lateness of the season, and that we had to pass home- 
ward through 1,000 miles of sea strewed with ice islands, 
with long nights, and probably attended with fogs, I 
could not determine otherwise than to take advantage 
of this favorable wind for returning." 

Weddell now retraced his course, to 58° South lati- 
tude, then steered in an easterly direction to within 
100 miles of the Sandwich Islands. In the month of 
February he once more doubled the southern cape, and 
skirted a sheet of ice fifty miles wide, but no land was 
seen. 

Weddell had penetrated 240 miles nearer the South 
Pole than any of the adventurers who had preceded him, 
including Cook. Besides valuable observations which 
he had accumulated, Weddell noticed that the vibrations 
of the compass were as slow in these southern latitudes 
as Parry had noted them in the Arctic regions. 

Fogs and storms were incessant and the two vessels 
became separated, but met again in New Georgia after 
a perilous voyage of over 1,200 miles. Weddell visited 
New Shetland, but as the harbours were blocked with 
ice, he was obliged to go to Tierra del Fuego, where he 
made a stay of two months, during which time he col- 
lected valuable information of a scientific nature and 
accurate data concerning the character of the inhab- 
itants. 

Weddell relates an amusing incident apropos of the 



90 The Seventh Continent 

thieving and imitative propensities of the natives; he 
writes : 

* ' A sailor had given a Fuegan a tin-pot full of coffee, 
which he drank, and was using all his art to steal the 
pot. The sailor, however, recollecting after a while that 
the pot had not been returned, applied for it, but what- 
ever words he made use of were always repeated in 
imitation by the Fuegan. At length he became enraged 
at hearing his requests reiterated, and, placing himself 
in a threatening attitude, in an angry tone, he said: 
' You copper-coloured rascal, where is my tin-pot ? ' The 
Fuegan, assuming the same attitude, with his eyes fixed 
on the sailor, called out, 'You copper-coloured rascal, 
where is my tin-pot?' The imitation was so perfect 
that every one laughed, except the sailor, who proceeded 
to search him, and under his arm he found the article 
missing. ' ' 

After an absence of two years, Weddell returned to 
England. 

The chief result of the exploring expedition com- 
manded by Captain George Powell, with the ''Eliza" 
and "Dove" in 1821 and 1822, was an important chart 
which credits Palmer with the discovery of Palmer 
Archipelago and gives the name of the ' ' Powell Group ' ' 
to those islands now known as the South Orkney 
Islands. 

Palmer 's romantic meeting with the Russian exploring 
expedition in the remote southern waters calls attention 
to its intrepid leader. Captain Fabian Gottlieb von Bel- 
lingshausen, who according to Greely "far surpassed 
Cook in the extent of Antarctic work, although not 
equalling his latitude by 17 miles. Bellingshausen not 
only circumnavigated the globe to the south of the 60th 



Early American Enterprise in Antarctic Discovery 91 

parallel, but also traversed 70 degrees of longitude 
within the circle, which he entered at six widely sepa- 
rated points. 

''His intrepidity and perseverance under adverse 
conditions of ice and weather resulted in important con- 
tributions to our knowledge of southern seas, and re- 
stricted materially the possible limits of continental 
land. He also has the honor of first discovering land 
within the Antarctic Circle — Peter I. Island in 90° W., 
and Alexander I. Land in 73° W. 

''The discovery of these two islands," writes Mr. 
Montemont, a member of the expedition, "is moreover 
remarkable in that of all these lands they are the most 
southerly which have yet been discovered in this at- 
mosphere." 

Herr Lowe adds: 

"The sudden change in the color of the water led 
Captain Bellingshausen to believe that this (Alexander) 
land must be of considerable size." 

"Both islands are surrounded on all sides by ice." 
comments Simonow. "If therefore the coast of Alex- 
ander Land is not the point of a dry land, then must 
I confirm the words of Cook and also say that we saw 
no trace of the supposed polar land, unless there was 
one beyond the limits of our vision, where, however, 
the eternal and impenetrable ice has placed a bar to 
navigation. ' ' 

It was after the discovery of the Alexander Land that 
Bellingshausen set sail for the Shetlands and encoun- 
tered the "Hero" commanded by Palmer. Some fifty 
other American and English ships were also met within 
these latitudes, and passing South Georgia Bellingshau- 
sen returned to Russia. 



CHAPTER y 



SOUTH POLAR ANIMALS 



THE great severity of climate in South Polar re- 
gions, the lack of vegetation, the desolation of 
unpeopled lands upon which no quadrupeds are 
to be found, — ^lands that are mere barren wastes of 
snow and ice, so different from the more hospitable 
coasts and valleys of the Arctic, where at equal dis- 
tances from the equator are found lands green with vege- 
tation, abounding with animal life and the habitat of the 
hardy Esquimaux, — is accounted for by the predomi- 
nance of sea in the South Polar regions. The vast 
continental masses in the north are warmed by the sum- 
mer sun rays and become centers of radiating heat; 
while the Antarctic lands are isolated in the midst of 
frigid waters and constantly chilled by cold sea winds 
''which act at every season as refrigerators of the at- 
mosphere. ' ' 

''In the north,'' writes Hartwig, "the cold currents 
of the Polar Ocean, with their drift-ice and bergs, have 
but the two wide gates of the Greenland Sea and Davis 
Strait through which they can emerge to the south, 
so that their influence is confined within comparatively 
narrow limits, while the gelid streams of the Antarctic 
seas branch out freely on all sides, and convey their 
floating ice-masses far and wide within the temperate 
seas. It is only to the west of Newfoundland that 

92 



South Polar Animals 93 

single icebergs have ever been known to descend as 
low as 39° of latitude; but in the southern hemisphere 
they have been met with in the vicinity of Cape of 
Good Hope (35° S. lat.) near Tristan d'Acunha, oppo- 
site to the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, and within a 
hundred leagues of Tasmania. In the north, finally, 
we find the gulf stream conveying warmth even to the 
shores of Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemblya; while in 
the opposite regions of the globe, no traces of warm 
currents have been observed beyond 55° of latitude. 

''Thus the predominance of vast tracts of flat land 
in the boreal hemisphere, and of an immense expanse 
of ocean in the Antarctic regions, sufficiently accounts 
for the aestival warmth of the former, and the compara- 
tively low summer temperature of the latter. 

''In 1829," he comments, "the 'Chanticleer', Cap- 
tain Foster, was sent to New Shetland for the purpose 
of making magnetic and other physical observations, 
and remained for several months at Deception Island, 
which was selected as a station from its affording the 
best harbour in South Shetland. 

' ' Though these islands are situated at about the same 
distance from the Pole as the Faroe Islands, which 
boast of numerous flocks of sheep, and where the sea 
never freezes, yet, when the 'Chanticleer' approached 
Deception Island, on January 5 (a month corresponding 
to our July), so many icebergs were scattered about, 
that Foster counted at one time no fewer than eighty- 
one. A gale having arisen, accompanied by a thick 
fog, great care was needed to avoid running foul of 
these floating cliffs. After entering the harbour — a 
work of no slight difficulty, from the violence of the 
wind — the fogs were so frequent that, for the first ten 



94 The Seventh Continent 

days, neither sun nor stars were seen ; and it was withal 
so raw and cold, that Lieutenant Kendall, to whom we 
owe a short narrative of the expedition, did not recollect 
having suffered more at any time in the Arctic regions, 
even at the lowest range of the thermometer. In this 
desolate land, frozen water becomes an integral portion 
of the soil; for this volcanic island is composed chiefly 
of alternate layers of ashes and ice, as if the snow of 
each winter, during a series of years, had been pre- 
vented from melting in the following summer, by the 
ejection of cinders and ashes from some part where 
volcanic action still goes on. Early in March (the 
September of the north) the freezing over of the cove 
in which the ship was secured, gave warning that it 
was high time for her to quit this desolate port. "With 
much difficulty and severe labour, from the fury of the 
gales, they managed to get away; and we may fully 
credit Lieutenant Kendall's assertion, that it was a 
day of rejoicing to all on board when the shores of 
Deception faded from their view." 

The absence of quadrupeds south of 60° has already 
been noted, but mention should be made of innumerable 
sea-birds which, though they belong to the same fami- 
lies as those of the north are a *' distinct genera or 
species, for with rare exceptions no bird is found to 
inhabit both Arctic and Antarctic regions." These 
include the giant petrel, ' Vhich extends its flight from 
Patagonia to the ice-banks of the south, where the Ant- 
arctic and snowy petrels first appear, cold loving birds 
which never leave those dreary waters, and are often 
seen in vast flocks floating upon the drift-ice." 

The giant petrel is larger than a goose — ^with a strong 
beak about 4% inches long. It is described as a dirty 



South Polar Ammals 95 

black in color, white below, and white spots on the neck 
and back. Its food consists of fish or the carcasses of 
seals, and cetaceans. 

The albatross, considered by superstitious sailors as 
a bird of ill omen, rivals the condor in majesty of 
flight and strength of wind. It is found in greatest 
numbers south of 60° South latitude and it probably 
knows no other limits than those of the Polar ice. "It is 
found," says Hartwig, **in every meridian of this enor- 
mous zone, but the regions of storms — the Cape of Good 
Hope, and Cape Horn, are its favorite resorts. ' ' 

The presence of innumerable penguins has already 
been noted; their principal food consists of various 
species of crustaceous animals; they have the habit of 
swallowing quantities of pebbles, probably to promote 
digestion, and it is recorded that no less than ten 
pounds of these were found in the stomach of a single 
bird. 

In contrast to the barrenness of the land of all ani- 
mals, the sea abounds with a great variety of marine 
life and the amphibious sea-elephant is one of the most 
curious. In the old days they were very numerous and 
at the proper season, came up out of the sea, and on 
reaching the beach says Fanning, **lay in rows along 
the same, such being what are technically termed rook- 
eries, though some contain many more than others. 
The full aged males alone have the proboscis, and some 
of these are truly enormous animals, varying from 
twelve to twenty-four feet in length, with a proportion- 
ate height and breadth. The females, at this season, 
come on shore to shed their coat (as do also the males) 
and bring forth their young; they have generally one, 
sometimes two, never more at a birth, and rarely, if ever, 



96 The Seventh Continent 

even at full age, do they attain over half the size and 
dimensions of the males. 

''On land, the elephant is a very logy animal and 
except among themselves, or in their own defense, never 
make battle. They are taken for their oil, and tongues, 
which are considered a delicious dish, and more luscious 
than beef tongue. When first coming to their favorite 
shore, the animal is exceedingly plump, and very fat, 
the full grown generally yielding about three barrels of 
oil ; but in a few weeks it falls away, becomes lank and 
poor, and by the time to go off comes about, would 
not give above the half of that quantity." 

The method used by the old Stonington sailors to 
capture these huge creatures was in the case of the 
young ones by hitting it a sharp blow with a club, and 
for the old ones, a lance was used, yet in order to 
overcome the largest bulls "it is necessary to have a 
musket loaded with a brace of balls," says Fanning; 
''with this, advancing in front of the animal, to within 
a few paces, they will rise on the fore legs or flippers, 
and at the same time open the mouth widely to send 
forth one of their loud roars ; this is the moment to dis- 
charge the balls through the roof of the upper jaw into 
the brains, whereupon the creature falls forward either 
killed, or so much stunned as to give the sealer suf- 
ficient time to complete its destruction with the lance. 
They are frequently discovered sleeping, in which case 
the muzzle of the piece is held close to the head, and 
discharged into the brain. The loudest noise will not 
awaken these animals when sleeping, as it is not un- 
usual, though it may appear singular, for the hunter 
to go on and shoot one without awaking those along- 
side of it, and in this way proceed through the whole 



Smith Polar Aiiimals 97 

rookery, shooting and lancing as many as are wanted. 
The quantity of blood in these animals is really aston- 
ishing, exceeding, in the opinion of the author, double 
the quantity found in a bullock of the same weight; 
when killed, the whole thickness of the blubber or fat, 
with its skin, is cut into strips of from five to ten inches 
in width, according to the animal's size; and thus cut 
from head to tail, torn from the carcass and separated 
from the lean flesh, are then washed clear of the blood 
and taken to a mincing table, where the skin is taken 
off, while the blubber, after being cut into pieces about 
two inches or less in size, is thrown into a kettle and 
tried out, the oil thus produced being put into casks, 
the scraps always furnishing plenty of fuel for the try 
kettle; a new cask after being filled with the boiling 
oil, is then started and coopered, necessarily, from not 
being fully shrunk, requiring to be filled again with 
the boiling oil, and even a third time, if it has not done 
shrinking after the second filling, which can readily be 
discovered, this course being particularly attended to," 
it may finally be coopered and stowed away in the 
ship's hold, to be filled up by the hose, and will re- 
main tight for the voyage, in all climes, nor require 
wetting for any length of time, or lose a gill of oil by 
shrinkage. ' ' 

The sea-leopard differs in several respects from the 
sea elephant; although it is nearly as large, it is more 
smoothly and neatly built, the fore paws or flippers 
are shorter, and on shore are described as more clumsy 
than the sea elephant. The hair is short, sleek and 
spotted, hence they derive their name. "When on the 
land if they are frightened or disturbed in any way, 
they tumble and roll down toward the water with sur- 



98 The Seventh Continent 

prising rapidity. In the sea they can move about very 
nimbly and "in point of swift swimming are equal 
to the herring hog, cutting their way through smoothly 
and rapidly ; there they are more at home than on land, 
and are more courageous and daring." 

*'Like the elephant, they are covered with a thick 
slab of fat; the skin, however, is thinner, and not so 
tough. They too observe the seasons for coming up 
and going off in the same manner, but are not with 
the elephant an inhabitant of all climes, as it is the 
author's opinion that the sea leopard never has been 
seen under the fiftieth degree of latitude, or even down 
near to it." 

Fanning says they are but seldom found at Staten 
Island, the Falkland Islands, New Zealand, Desolation 
Island or South Georgia, and *' there very scatteringly, 
or only singly or in pairs. At New South Shetlands 
they are more numerous, not so much so even there, as 
to herd in rookeries; but on Palmer's Land, and the 
south part of Sandwich Land, they are found herded 
together in rookeries of many hundreds, and furnish oil, 
as the elephant, in proportion to their size." 

Fanning describes two species of sea lions or hair 
seals — one much larger than the other. The former is 
of a brownish color — the most numerous and ferocious 
— ^the other is handsomer and a neater formed animal — 
with short and sleek hair of a russet or light sorrel 
color. "The first mentioned grade," he says, "vary 
from nine to fifteen feet in length, very large around 
the neck, but tapering off gradually till quite slender 
at their hind flippers, with head resembling the land 
lion, good sized white teeth, and a very long bristling 
mane. 



South Polar Animals 99 

*'0n approaching near to them when the clap 
matches (females), have their young, which is one at 
a time, and for which purpose they come up on shore, 
they immediately advance to their defense, shaking 
their mane, roaring and growling and showing their 
fine teeth, and presenting to a person unacquainted 
with them, a terrible and powerful appearance. They 
are taken in the same way as the large bull elephant, 
with the musket and lance, the club answering for the 
clap matches, and yearlings, unless where from being 
frequently disturbed they have become shy; in which 
case it is necessary to shoot them also. 

''They, too, herd together in rookeries and between 
these and the water, from which they are by this means 
cut off; the hunters advance in Indian file, and when 
surrounded, turn them up, and drive them to some 
convenient spot, where huddled together, they are killed 
by hundreds at a time with the club. The favorite 
landings for this animal are the smooth bays with 
pebbles or sandy beaches, but at times they are content 
with the flat rock. They subsist on birds and fish — 
and marine productions.'' 

Valuable as were the products secured from the sea 
animals just described, the Yankee sealers put their best 
energies into securing the coveted pelts of the fur seals, 
which they gathered by the thousands in the course of 
a single voyage. 

"Of these there are three different grades," writes 
Fanning, ''full aged males, called wigs; the females, 
clap matches, those not quite so old, bulls; all the half- 
grown of both, yearlings ; the young of near a year old, 
called gray or silvered pups, and before their coats are 
changed to this color, called black pups. This animal 



100 The Seventh Continent 

is much more sprightly and active on shore than the 
elephant, leopard, or hair seal; their chief delight is in 
the heavy surf or a rough or rocky shore ; still they can 
manage to get themselves quite elevated in the world 
at times." 

The elevation of their rookeries is sometimes between 
two and three hundred feet, and in one instance de- 
scribed, the ascent was made over a succession of shelv- 
ing rocks and black and white cliffs. 

''The taking of the animals at this place was com- 
menced at the dawn of day; after overcoming the dif- 
ficulty in climbing up, the seamen were obliged to be 
very cautious of their footing, the extreme slipperiness 
rendering them liable every moment to slide off, or else 
the set on of some bristling old wig while defending 
his charge, would surely send them therefrom, down 
the precipice to instant death. The wigs have long 
coarse hair, with stiff thin dull colored fur, and fre- 
quent mostly the latitudes on the coasts of Africa and 
Peru; the second kind are of the middling size, their 
hair is not so long as the wigs, the fur though is much 
thicker, and of a fine cast, but reddish hue; they are 
met with at the Falkland Islands, the islands about 
Cape Horn, New Holland, New Zealand, the coasts of 
Patagonia and Chili." 

The smaller species are a neater animal, not so savage, 
nor having so sharp pointed a nose as the others ; the hair 
is sleeker and shorter, and the fur, of a rich bright color, 
is long, thick and glossy. They are met with at New 
South Shetlands, west coast of Terra del Fuego, South 
Georgia, Prince Edward's and Crozett's Islands. 

''AH these three different species, strange as it may 
be thought," comments Fanning, "have been taken at 



South Polar Animals 101 

the Gallipagos Islands, situated on the equator. Over 
his several mates, as they lay closely huddled around 
him, the wig keeps a sharp lookout; severe battles fre- 
quently take place between the males whenever they 
approach on another's company; on the other hand, 
when the females venture to move to another place, or 
take to the water against the will of the wigs, they 
are immediately pursued, and by being bitten and 
shaken, driven back to the starting point; the females 
have been seen to get some rods off from the shore 
before their absence was discovered, which was no 
sooner done than plunging through the surf to all ap- 
pearance in a great rage, the male has headed them off, 
biting and driving them back again to where the re- 
mainder of his seraglio were quietly looking on without 
daring to stir. 

''The clap matches seldom have more than one young 
at a time, although sometimes two; it is at this season 
particularly, that the wigs are very savage, never hesi- 
tating to fly at and attack with great spirit, any per- 
son who ventures to approach them. They live upon 
fish, and marine productions; stones also have been 
found in their maws, as well as in those of the other 
described animals. They migrate, and with the season 
return to the shore and herd in rookeries on the rocks, 
and in the gullies, returning to the water again when 
the season is over; at this time the animal is very lean, 
so much so that the skin is become very loose about it; 
nothing more after this is seen of them until the following 
season, when they are to be observed coming up again 
to the shore, exceedingly plump and well filled; where 
they retire to, to get so fat is something I never could 
understand; it is also true that they have been met at 



102 The Seventh Continent 

sea shortly before going on shore in large shoals swim- 
ming through the water towards their haunts much like 
a shoal of herring-hogs or porpoises. In calm weather 
and a smooth sea, they have been seen floating along, 
hundreds together, and asleep, with but the nose and 
two of the in flippers sticking up out of the water, 
which at a distance appears like the trunk of a tree 
with its roots afloat; when caught thus asleep, they 
can easily be taken by the harpoon or spear, by ap- 
proaching them silently. 

''These fur seals are the animals the celebrated Cap- 
tain Cook and other ancient voyagers call sea bears, 
sea wolves, etc. While waiting at the resorting places 
of these animals, they have been seen far off on the 
sea as the eye could reach, coming directly and quickly 
towards the land, springing out of the water and then 
plunging in again, in a regular undulating movement, 
and after passing through the surf, land on the rocks, 
where being arrived, a few moments are passed in look- 
ing about for a suitable spot, the body then moving 
off to their places in the rookery, a mode of procedure 
very similar to that of the hair seals. The wigs gen- j 
erally come up in smaller flocks a few days before the 
clap matches, and as these last arrive, select their 
mates from among them and drive them off to their loca- 
tion directly. 

''The skins are taken in the same way as those of 
the sea lions are. If these seals are to be skinned for 
the China market, the fat, and portions of the meat 
should be taken off with the skin, the whole then washed 
and spread on the rocks to drean, afterwards taken 
to the beamer, where the fat and blubber is cleanly 
beamed off, the flipper holes sewed up with twine, and 



I 




A SEA-LIOX HUNT 
From an Old Print 



South Polar Animals 103 

the skins stretched out by means of ten wooden pins 
(which to be of a suitable size, should be half an inch 
in diameter at the head and twelve or fifteen inches 
in length) on the turf to dry, and when perfectly 
dried are in order for that market. But for the Euro- 
pean, London, or American markets, the skin should 
be flinched off, taking half to one inch thickness of 
the fat with it, then washed perfectly clean from the 
blood and dirt, and while wet plentifully salted, and 
booked or kenched away. The young fur seals, after 
they are six weeks old, and until yearlings are used 
as, and considered to be, good fresh meat for roasting, 
frying, broiling, or stewing; in fact, persons have pre- 
ferred them to lamb. The flippers, when well dressed 
and cooked, are not inferior to the callipee of the best 
green turtle.*' 

This descrip^tion of marine animal life as it was 
observed and hunted in the early years of the nine- 
teenth century has all the local atmosphere of the time 
and the surroundings. The romance in the lives of 
these enterprising Yankee sealers was of a blunt and 
rugged character. They were men of strong nerve and 
sinew, and not too fine sensibilities to suffer from the 
hardships to be encountered in their perilous undertak- 
ings. They fought a bloody and lively fight with the 
denizens of the Southern waters and ruthlessly slaugh- 
tered their prey by thousands. After a season in the 
desolate Antarctic wastes, their schooners, teeming with 
the maliferous odors of their spoils, ploughed the high 
seas to the markets of the world with a prodigious 
wealth in oil and peltries. 

Mr. J. M. Reynolds in a report before the 23rd Con- 
gress, in January, 1835, calls attention to the daring 



104 The Seventh Continent 

and success of the American sealer in high Southern 
latitudes. He says in part: 

''I regret that I am not at liberty to communicate in 
writing all the interesting facts which I have been en- 
abled to collect from those engaged in the seal trade, 
or as they call it, 'The skinning business.' The occu- 
pation of these men leads them into seas and parts of 
the globe far beyond the common pathway of the 
whaler. Their voyages and adventures, too, are of the 
most daring kind. In small vessels they venture into 
high southern latitudes, and have actually taken seal, 
with profit, in some instances, within the Antarctic 
circle. In the history of the seal trade, secrecy in what 
they know, has been deemed a part, and a very impor- 
tant part too, of their capital. There is nothing more 
common at this time, than that islands are frequented 
for animal fur, and their positions known to no one 
on board but the captain; and when an island is dis- 
covered, the observations are made and noted down by 
the captain in his private journal." 

There is a dark side to the picture of these venture- 
some sealers, who passed beyond 70° South latitude in 
their eager search for wealth; many returned with 
heavy cargoes, but there are others whose vessels were 
supposedly crushed in the ice, and who were never heard 
of again. 

Fanning speaks of one ''meritorious mariner," Cap- 
tain Robert Johnson, who in the year 1822, in the 
schooner "Henry" from the port of New York, sailed 
in a vain search for the Aurora Islands, ran across 
new land to which he gave the name of New South 
Greenland, but who made another voyage a few years 
later from which he never returned. "He was last 



Smith Polar A^iimals 105 

seen at the South Cape of New Zealand, in the follow- 
ing year, having lost three men, who were drowned at 
Chatham Islands." 

The ** Henry" after leaving New Zealand bore to the 
South and East, in search of new islands between 60° 
and 65° south latitude, and the chronicler observes: 
"It is very probable that he made discovery of some 
new island near the parallel of 60 on which the 'Henry' 
was shipwrecked." 

More fortunate was Captain James Brown, another 
American sealer, who made a southern voyage in 1829- 
1831. He sighted and named four islands to which 
he gave the name of Potter's Island, situated in 56° 18' 
South latitude, 28° 35' West longitude, Prince's Island 
in 55° 55' South latitude, 27° 53' West longitude, Wil- 
ley's Island he charted in 56° 25' South latitude, 27° 
43' West, and the last he named Christmas Island in 
honor of the day, and located in 57° 49' South latitude. 

While the American sealers were occupied in discov- 
ery of new lands where the ''skinning business" might 
be pursued with success and profit, the English sealers 
were no less active in the search for fishing grounds in 
the cold waters of the Antarctic Ocean. 

Credit is given by the English Admiralty to an Eng- 
lish sealer named Kemp who in the year 1833 discovered 
land just east of Enderby Land, and laid down on the 
Admiralty charts as "Kemp Land." 

The "Eliza Scott," commanded by John Balleny, 
accompanied by the "Sabrina," sailed from Chalky 
Bay, New Zealand, January 7th, 1839, and while pur- 
suing his southern course ran into the ice about 69° 
South latitude and 172° 11' East longitude, where he 
was forced to turn north once more; in 66° 22' south 



106 The Seventh Continent 

latitude, 163° 49' East longitude, he discovered the 
group of islands, now known as the Balleny Islands. 
Pursuing a northwesterly course, Balleny encountered 
a great deal of ice and by March 3rd he notes: 

** Found the ice closing and becoming more compact; 
stood through the drift ice to the southward. At 8 h. 
found ourselves surrounded by icebergs of immense 
size; to the S. W. the ice was quite fast, with every 
appearance of land at the back of it, but the weather 
coming on thick, we were obliged to steer to the north- 
ward along the edge of the pack." 

It is generally conceded that though Balleny had 
little idea of it at the time, this ' ' every appearance of 
land" which he describes was the coast of East Ant- 
arctica. 

While Congress was debating the advisability of an 
exploring expedition into these southern latitudes, the 
English were already sending out expeditions of a 
purely scientific nature. Notable among these was that 
already referred to in command of Captain Henry Fos- 
ter, R. N., of the ''Chanticleer," who between the years 
1828-1829 was occupied in making pendulum observa- 
tions at the South Shetlands. The scientists were also 
occupied in studying the flora and fauna of this region. 

*'0f far greater interest," writes Verne, ''was the 
survey made in 1830 by the whaler John Biscoe. The 
brig 'Tula,' 140 tons, and the cutter 'Lively,' left Lon- 
don under his orders on the 14th July, 1830. These 
two vessels, the property of Messrs. Enderby, were 
fitted up for whale fishing, and were in every respect 
well qualified for the long and arduous task before 
them, which, according to Biscoe 's instructions, was to 
combine discovery in the Antarctic seas with whaling. 



South Polar Animals 107 

After touching at the Falklands, the ships staii:ed on 
the 27th November on a vain search for the Aurora 
Islands, after which they made for the Sandwich group, 
doubling its most southerly cape on the 1st January, 
1831. In 59° S. lat. masses of ice were encountered, 
compelling the explorers to give up the southwestern 
route, in which direction they had noted signs of the 
existence of land. It was therefore necessary to bear 
east, skirting along the ice as far as W. long. 9° 34'. 
It was only on the 16th January that Biscoe was able 
to cross the 60th parallel of S. lat. In 1775 Cook 
had here come to a space of open sea 250 miles in 
extent, yet now an insurmountable barrier of ice 
checked Biscoe 's advance. 

** Continuing his southwesterly course as far as 68° 
51' and 10° E. long., the explorer was struck by the 
discoloration of the water, the presence of several eaglet 
and cape-pigeons, and the fact that the wind now blew 
from the south-southwest, all sure tokens of a large con- 
tinent being near. Ice, however, again barred his prog- 
ress southwards, and he had to go on in an easterly 
direction approaching nearer and nearer the Antarctic 
Circle. 

*'At length, on the 27th February, in S. Lat. 65° 57' 
and E. long. 47° 20' land was distinctly seen. 

"This land was of considerable extent," continues 
Verne, "mountainous and covered with snow. Biscoe 
named it Enderby, and made the most strenuous efforts 
to reach it, but it was so completely surrounded with 
ice that he could not succeed. Whilst these attempts 
were being made a gale of wind separated the two 
vessels and drove them in a south-westerly direction, 
the land remaining in sight, and stretching away from 



108 The Seventh Continent 

east to west for an extent of more than 200 miles. 

"Bad weather, and the deplorable state of health 
of the crew, compelled Biscoe to make for Van Die- 
men's Land, where he was not rejoined by the 'Lively' 
until some months later. 

''The explorers had several opportunities of observ- 
ing the aurora australis, to quote from Biscoe 's narra- 
tive, or rather the account of his trip drawn up from 
his log book, and published in the journal of the Royal 
Geographical Society. 

" 'Extraordinarily vivid coruscations of aurora aus- 
tralis (were seen) at times rolling,' says Captain Biscoe, 
'as it were, over our heads in the form of beautiful 
columns, then as suddenly changing like the fringe of 
a curtain, and again shooting across the hemisphere 
like a serpent; frequently appearing not many yards 
above our heads, and decidedly within our atmosphere.' 

"Leaving Van Diemen's Land on the 11th January, 
1832, Biscoe and his two vessels resumed their voyage 
in a southeasterly direction. The constant presence of 
floating seaweed and the number of birds of a kind 
which never venture far from land, with the gathering 
of low and heavy clouds made Biscoe think he was 
on the eve of some discovery, but storms prevented the 
completion of his explorations. At last, on the 12th 
of February, albatrosses, penguins, and whales were 
seen in large quantities; and on the 15th land was seen 
in the south a long distance off. 

' ' The next day this land was ascertained to be a large 
island 167° 1' south latitude, 71° 48' west longitude, 
to which the name of Adelaide was given, in honor 
of the Queen of England. On this island were a num- 
ber of mountains of conical form with the base very 



South Polar Animals 109 

large. In the ensuing days it was ascertained that 
this was no solitary island, but one of a chain of islets 
forming so to speak the outworks of a lofty continent. 
This continent, stretching away for 250 miles in an 
E.N.E. and W.S.W. direction, was called Graham, 
whilst the name of Biscoe was given to the islets in 
honor of their discoverer. There was no trace either 
of plants or animals in this country. 

''To make quite sure of the nature of his discovery, 
Biscoe landed on the 21st February, on Graham's Land, 
and determined the position of a lofty mountain, to 
which he gave the name of William, in S. lat. 64° 45' 
and W. long. 66° 11', reckoning from the Paris merid- 
ian. To quote from the journal of the Royal Geograph- 
ical Society: 

'* 'The place was in a deep bay, in which the water 
was so still that could any seals have been found the 
vessels could have been easily loaded, as they might 
have been laid alongside the rocks for the purpose. 

" 'The depth of the water was also considerable, no 
bottom being found with twenty fathoms of line almost 
close to the beach, and the sun was so warm that the 
snow was melted oif all the rocks along the water-line, 
which made it more extraordinary that they should 
be so utterly deserted.' " 

From Graham's Land, Biscoe made for the South 
Shetlands, with which it seemed possible the former 
might be connected, and after touching at the Falk- 
land Islands, where he lost sight of the "Lively," he 
returned to England. 

As a reward for all he had done, and as an encour- 
agement for the future, Biscoe received medals both 
from the English and French Geographical Societies. 



110 The Seventh Continent 

Lieutenant Eea, E. N., was sent out by the Enderbys 
in 1832-1833 to supplement Biscoe's researches, but did 
not succeed in going beyond the South Shetlands, where 
he lost one of his ships and barely escaped with the 
other. 

The same year, 1833, Lieutenant Binstead of the 
Royal Navy, with Mr. Foxton as navigating officer, with 
the two ships, ''Hopewell" and ''Eose," sailed south 
from the Falkland Islands in about 10° and 20° West 
longitude. As they neared 70° South they saw high 
land covered with snow, but in an effort to reach it 
they became ''blocked in" the ice, where the "Eose" 
was crushed and sank. Her crew took refuge in 
the "Hopewell," which returned to the Falkland 
Islands. 

As has been already stated, it was at this time that 
the British Admiralty charts renamed Palmer's Land 
by Graham Land and assumed the credit for its dis- 
covery. 

It would appear that about 1837 the general opinion 
was in favor of the existence of an archipelago of 
islands round the South Pole and not a continent. 
Authorities referred constantly to the "South Polar 
Islands, ' ' to the ' ' Antarctic Archipelago, " or to Islands 
of the South Polar Sea. At this time what is known 
as Enderby Land and Graham Land were supposed to 
be the coasts of large islands. This natural belief con- 
tinued until Wilkes and Eoss' discoveries some years 
later. 

"Very animated were the discussions which now took 
place," concludes Yerne, "as to the existence of a 
southern continent, and the possibility of penetrating 
beyond the barrier of ice shutting in the adjacent 



Smith Polar Animals 111 

islands. Three powers simultaneously resolved to send 
out an expedition. France entrusted the command of 
hers to Dumont d 'Urville ; England chose James Ross ; 
and the United States, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes.'* 



CHAPTER YI 



WHILE the American expedition was getting 
under way, Captain Dumont d'Urville pro- 
posed to the French minister of marine a new 
scheme for a voyage round the world. Captain d'Ur- 
ville had rendered excellent service in 1819-21 in a 
hydrographic expedition, in 1822 and 1825 in the 
'^Coquille," under Captain Duperrey, and lastly in 
1826-29 on the ''Astrolabe," and was well equipped 
for the voyage on which he proposed to enter. 

D'Urville 's offer was accepted by the minister and 
two corvettes, the ''Astrolabe" and "Zelee," were 
placed at his disposal. Among the personnel of the 
expedition were men of experience and scientific train- 
ing, including Jacquinot, commander of the "Zelee," 
Coupvent Desbois, Du Bouzet, Tardy de Montravel, and 
Perigot, all names of distinction in French naval his- 
tory. 

"The instructions given by Vice- Admiral Rosamel 
to d'Urville," writes Verne, "differed from those of 
his predecessors chiefly in his being ordered to pene- 
trate as near as the ice would permit to the South 
Pole. He was also ordered to complete the great work 
he had begun in 1827 on the Viti Islands, to survey 
the Solomon Archipelago, to visit the Swan River of 
Australia, New Zealand, the iChatham Islands, that 

112 




ADMIRAL DUMONT D URVILLE 



The French Expeditimi Under Captadn D'Urville 113 

part of the Carolina group surveyed by Lutke, Min- 
danao, Borneo and Batavia, whence he was to return 
to France via the Cape of Good Hope." 

** After numerous delays, resulting from the fitting 
up of two vessels which were to take the Prince de 
Joinville to Brazil, the 'Astrolabe' and 'Zelee' at 
last left Toulon on the 7th of September, 1837. The 
last day of the same month they cast anchor off Santa 
Cruz de Teneriffe which D'Urville chose as a halting 
place in preference to one of the Cape Verde Islands, 
in the hope of laying in a stock of wine and also of 
being able to take some magnetic observations which 
he had been blamed for neglecting in 1826, although 
it was well known that he was not then in a fit state 
to attend to such things. 

**0n the 12th October, the two vessels put to sea 
again, intending to reach the Polar regions as soon 
as possible. For a long time D'Urville had wished 
to explore the Strait of Magellan, not with a view to 
further hydrographical surveys, for the careful explora- 
tions of Captain King, begun in 1826, had been fin- 
ished in 1834 by Fitzroy, leaving little to be done in 
that direction, but to gather the rich and still unap- 
propriated harvest of facts relating to natural history. 
How intensely interesting it was, too, to note how real 
had been the dangers encountered by early navigators, 
such as the sudden veering of the wind, etc. What a 
good thing it would be to obtain further and more 
detailed information about the famous Patagonians, the 
subject of so many fables and controversies. Yet an- 
other motive led D'Urville to anchor off Port Fanuiel, 
rather than off Staten Island. His perusal of the ac- 
counts of the work of explorers who had penetrate^ 



114 The Seventh Continent 

into the Southern Seas convinced him that the end of 
January and the whole of February were the best 
times for visiting these regions, for then only are the 
effects of the annual thaw over, and with them the risk 
of over-fatigue to the crews. 

**This resolution once taken, D'Urville communicated 
it to Captain Jacquinot, and set sail for the strait. On 
the 12th December, Cape Virgin was sighted, and Du- 
moulin, seconded by the young officers, began a grand 
series of hydrographical surveys. In the intricate 
navigation of the strait, D'Urville, we are told, showed 
equal courage and calmness, skill and presence of mind, 
completely winning over to his side many of the sailors, 
who, when they had seen him going along at Toulon 
when suffering with gout, had exclaimed, 'Oh, that old 
fellow won't take us far!' Now when his constant 
vigilance had brought the vessel safely out of the strait, 

the cry was, 'The man is mad! He's made us 

scrape against rocks, reefs, and land, as if he had never 
taken a voyage before! And we used to think him as 
useless as a rotten keel!' " 

"As I was about to re-embark," (from Port Famine), 
writes D'Urville, *'a little barrel was brought to me 
which had been found hung on a tree on the beach, 
near a post on which was written Post Office. Having 
ascertained that this barrel contained papers, I took 
it on board and examined them. They consisted of 
notes of captains who had passed through the Straits 
of Magellan, stating the time of their visits, the inci- 
dents of their passage, with advice to those who should 
come after them, and letters for Europe or the United 
States. It seemed that an American captain, Cunning- 
ham by name, had been the originator of this open- 



The French Expedition Under Captain D'Urviilc 115 

air post-office. lie had merely, in April 1833, Ining a 
bottle on a tree, and his fellow-countryman, Waterhouse, 
had supplemented it by the post with its inscription. 
Lastly, Captain Carrick of the schooner Mary Ann, 
from Liverpool, passed through the strait in March, 
1837, on his way to San Bias, California, going through 
it again a second time on his way back on the 29th 
November, 1837, that is to say, sixteen days before our 
own visit, and he it was who had substituted the barrel 
for the bottle, adding an invitation to all who should 
succeed him to use it as the receptacle of letters for 
different destinations. 

**I mean to improve this ingenious and useful con- 
trivance for forming an actual post-office en the high- 
est point of the peninsula with an inscription in letters 
of a size so gigantic as to compel the attention of 
navigators who would not otherwise have touched at 
Port Famine. Curiosity will then probably lead them 
to send a canoe to examine the box, which will be 
fastened to the post. It seems likely that we shall 
ourselves reap the first fruits of this arrangement, and 
our families will be agreeably surprised to receive news 
from us from this wild and lonely district, just before 
our plunge into the ice of the Polar regions." 

*'0n the 28th December, 1837, anchor was weighed 
without a single Patagonian having been seen, although 
the officers and crew had been so eager to make ac- 
quaintance with the natives. 

*'The difficulties attending navigation compelled the 
two corvettes to cast anchor a little further on, off 
Port Calant. This compulsory halt was not wasted, 
for a large number of new plants were collected, and 
the port with the neighboring bays were surveyed. The 



116 The Seventh Continent 

commander, however, finding the season already so far 
advanced, gave up his idea of going out at the westerly 
end of the strait, and went back the way he came, 
hoping thus to get an interview with the Patagonians 
before going to the Polar regions. 

*^The vessels now made for Terra del Fuego, where 
Dumoulin resumed his surveys. 

''Magdelena Island, Gente Grande Bay, Elizabeth 
Island and Oazy Harbour, where the camp of a large 
party of Patagonians was made out with the telescope, 
and Peckett Harbour, where the * Astrolabe' struck in 
three fathoms, were successfully passed. 

''Peckett Harbour was alive with Patagonians and 
the officers and men were alike eager to land. A crowd 
of natives on horseback were waiting for them at the 
place of disembarkation. 

''A white man was living amongst these Patagonians, 
a miserable, decrepit looking fellow, who said he came 
from the United States, but he spoke English very im- 
perfectly, and the explorers took him to be a German- 
Swiss. Niederhauser, so he called himself, had gone to 
seek his fortune in the United States, and that fortune 
being long on the road, he had given ear to the wonder- 
ful proposals of a certain whaleman, who wanted to 
complete his crew. By this whaleman he was left with 
seven others and some provisions on a desert island 
off Terra del Fuego to hunt seals and dress their skins. 
Four months later the schooner returned laden with 
skins, left the seal-hunters fresh provisions, went off 
again, and never came back! Whether it had been 
shipwrecked, or whether the captain had abandoned his 
sailors, it was. impossible to ascertain. When the poor 
fellows found themselves deserted and their provisions 



The French Expedition Under Captain D'Vrville 117 

exhausted, they embarked in their canoe and rowed up 
the Straits of Magellan, soon meeting with some Pata- 
gonians, with whom Niederhauser remained; whilst his 
companions went on. Well received by the natives, he 
lived their life with them, faring well when food was 
plentiful, drawing in his belt and living on roots when 
food was scarce. 

''Weary, however, of this miserable existence, Nieder- 
hauser entreated D'Urville to take him on board, urg- 
ing that another month of the life he was leading would 
kill him. The Captain consented, and received him as 
a passenger. 

''During his three months' residence amongst them, 
Niederhauser had learnt something of the language of 
the Patagonians, and with his aid D'Urville drew up 
a comparative vocabulary of a great many words in 
Patagonian, French and German. 

"At midday on the 20th of January, the vessels were 
in S. lat. 62° 3' and W. long. 49° 56', not far from the 
place where Powell encountered compact ice-fields, and 
an immense ice-island was soon sighted, some 6,000 feet 
in extent and 300 in height, with perpendicular sides 
greatly resembling land under certain conditions of the 
light. Numerous whales and penguins were now seen 
swimming about the vessels, whilst white petrels con- 
tinually flew across them. On the 21st observations 
gave S. lat. 62° 53', and D'Urville was expecting soon 
to reach the 65th parallel, when at 3.00 a. m. he was 
told that further progress was arrested by an ice-berg, 
across which it did not seem possible to cut a passage. 
The vessels were at once put about and slowly steered 
in an easterly direction, the wind having fallen." 

'*We were thus enabled," says D'Urville, "to gaze at 



118 The Seventh Continent 

our leisure upon the wonderful spectacle spread out 
before our eyes. Severe and grand beyond expression, 
it not only excited the imagination, but filled the heart 
with involuntary terror, nowhere else is man's power- 
lessness more forcibly brought before him. ... A new 
world displays itself to him, but it is a motionless, 
gloomy and silent world, where everything threatens the 
annihilation of human faculties. Should he have the 
misfortune to be left here alone, no help, no consola- 
tion, no spark of hope, would soothe his last moments." 

On the 24th the two corvettes crossed a series of 
floating islets and entered a plain where ice was melt- 
ing. The passage, however, became narrower and nar- 
rower, and they were obliged to veer round to save them- 
selves from being locked in. 

D'Urville now decided to steer north, his objective 
point being the New South Orknies and for a period 
of three days coasted in their vicinity without being 
able to land. He again turned south and came in with 
the ice in 62° South latitude, 39° 28' East longitude. 
Penetrating a narrow lane of open water, he arrived at 
a small basin some two miles in extent hemmed in by 
walls of ice. 

* ' It was decided to make fast to the ice, ' ' says Verne, 
''and when the order to cast anchor was given a young 
middy on board the 'Zelee' cried naively, 'Is there a 
post here? I shouldn't have thought there were people 
living on the ice'." 

"Great indeed was now the joyful enthusiasm on 
both vessels. Some of the young officers of the 'Zelee' 
had come to empty a bowl of punch with their com- 
rades of the ' Astrolabe, ' and the commander could hear 
their shouts of delight from his bed. He himself did 



The French Expedition Under Captain D'Urvillc llii 

not, however, look upon the situation in quit/e the 
same favorable light. He felt that he had clone a very 
imprudent thing. Shut into a cul-de-sac, he could only 
go out as ho had come, and that he could not do until 
he had. the wind riglit aft. At eleven o'clock D'Urville 
was awoke by a violent shock, accompanied by a noise 
of breaking, as if the vessel had struck on some rocks. 
lie got up, and saw that the * Astrolabe,' having drifted, 
had struck violently against the ice, where she re- 
mained exposed to collision with the ma^sses of ice 
which the current was sweeping along more rapidly 
than it did the vessel herself. 

"When day dawned the adventurers found them- 
selves surrounded by ice, but in the north a blackish 
line seemed to betray the existence of an open sea. 
This direction was at once taken, but a thick fog im- 
mediately and completely enveloped both ships, when 
it cleared off they found themselves face to face with 
a compact ice barrier, beyond which stretched away as 
far as the eye could reach an open sea. 

*'D'Urville now resolved to cut himself a passage, 
and began operations by dashing the 'Astrolabe' with 
all possible speed against the obstacle. The vessel pene- 
trated two or three lengths into the ice, and then re- 
mained motionless. The crew climbed out of her on 
to the ice armed with pick axes, pincers, mattocks, and 
saws, and merrily endeavored to cut a passage. The 
fragment of ice was already nearly crossed when the 
wind changed, and the motion of the waves in the offing 
began to be felt, causing the officers to agree in urging 
a retreat into the shelter of the ice-walls, for there was 
some danger if the wind freshened of the vessel being 
embayed against the ice and beaten by the waves and 



120 The Seventh Continent 

floating debris. 

''The corvettes had traversed twelve or fifteen miles 
for nothing, when an officer, perched in the shrouds, 
sighted a passage in the E. N. E. That direction was 
at once taken, but again it was found impossible to 
cut a passage, and when night came the crew had to 
make the ship fast to a huge block of ice. The loud 
cracking noises which had awoke the commander the 
night before now began with such violence that it really 
seemed impossible for the vessel to live till daylight. 

*' After an interview with the captain of the 'Zelee/ 
however, D'Urville made for the north, but the day 
passed without any change being effected in the posi- 
tion of the vessels, and the next day during a storm 
of sleet the swell of the sea became so powerful as com- 
pletely to raise the ice plain in which they were im- 
prisoned. More careful watch than ever had now to be 
kept, to guard against the pieces of ice flung long 
distances by this motion, and the rudder had to be 
protected from them by a kind of wooden hut. 

''With the exception of a few cases of ophthalmia, 
resulting from the continual glare of the snow, the 
health of the crews was satisfactory, and this was no 
little satisfaction to the leaders of the expedition, com- 
pelled as they were to be continually on the qui vive. 
Not until the 9th February were the vessels favoured by 
a strong breeze, able to get off, and once more enter 
a really open sea. The ice had been coasted for a dis- 
tance of 225 leagues. The vessels had actual^ sustained 
no further damage than the loss of a few spars and 
a considerable portion of the copper sheathing, involv- 
ing no further leakage than there had been before. 

*'The next day the sun came out, and observations 




THE astrolabe" AND "zELEe" IN THE 



The French Expedition TJnder Captain D'UrviUe 121 

could be taken, giving the latitude as 62° 9' South, and 
longitude 39° 22' West. 

''Snow continued to fall, the cold was intense, and 
the wind very violent for the three succeeding days. 
This continuance of bad weather, together with the in- 
creasing length of the nights, warned D'Urville of the 
necessity of giving up all idea of going further. When, 
therefore, he found himself in S. lat. 62° and W. long. 
33° 11', in other words, in that part of the ocean where 
Weddell had been able to sail freely in 1823, and the 
Qew explorer had met with nothing but impassable ice, 
he steered for New South Orkney. A whole month 
passed amongst the ice and fogs of the Antarctic Ocean 
had told upon the health of the crews, and nothing 
could be gained for science by a continuance of the 
cruise. 

*'0n the 20th the Archipelago was again sighted, and 
D'Urville was once more driven out of his course in a 
northerly direction by the ice, but he was able to put 
off with two boats, the crews of which collected on Wed- 
dell Island a large number of geological specimens, 
lichens, etc., and some twenty penguins and chionis. 

''On the 25th February, Clarence Island was seen, 
forming the eastern extremity of the New South Shet- 
land Archipelago, a very steep and rugged district cov- 
ered with snow except on the beach, and thence the 
explorers steered towards Elephant Island, resembling 
Clarence Island in. every respect, except that it is 
strewn with peaks rising up black against the plains 
of snow and ice. The islets of Narrow, Biggs, O 'Brien, 
and Aspland, were successively identified, but covered 
as they are with snow, they are perfectly inaccessible 
to man. The little volcano of Bridgeman was also seen, 



122 The Seventh Continent 

and the naturalists tried in vain to land upon it from 
two boats. 

''The general colour of the soil," says the narrative, 
'*is red, like that of burnt bricks with particles of grey, 
suggestive of the presence of pumice-stone, or of cal- 
cined cinders. Here and there on the beach are seen 
great blackish-looking blocks, which are probably lava. 
This islet has, however, only one true crater, although 
thick columns of smoke are emitted from it, nearly all 
of them issuing from the base on the western side, whilst 
in the north are two other fumerolles, thirty or forty 
feet along the water. There are none on the eastern 
or northern side, or at the top, which is smooth and 
round. The bulk appears recently to have undergone 
some considerable modification, as indeed it must have 
done, or it could not now resemble so little the de- 
scription given by Powell in December, 1822." 

D'Urville soon resumed his southerly route, and on 
the 27th February, sighted a considerable belt of land 
in the southeast on which he was prevented from land- 
ing by the fog and the continuous fall of very fine 
snow. He was now in the latitude of Hope Island — 
i. e., in S. lat. 62° 57'. He approached it very closely, 
and sighted before reaching it a low-lying land, to 
which he gave the name of Joinville. Then further on 
in the south-west he came to an extensive district which 
he named Louis Philippe, and between the two in a 
kind of channel, encumbered with ice, an island he 
called Rosamel. 

''Now," says D'Urville, ''the horizon was so light 
that we could trace all the irregularities of Louis 
Philippe's Land. We could see it stretching away from 
Mount Bransfield in the north (72° E. long.) to the 



The French Expedition Under Captain D'Urville 123 

S. S. W., where it faded away on the horizon. From 
Mount Bransfield in the south it is lofty, and of fairly 
uniform surface, resembling a vast, unbroken ice-field. 
In the south, however, it rises in the form of a fine 
peak (Mount Jacquinot) which is equal, perhaps, in- 
deed superior, to Bransfield, but beyond this peak it 
stretches away in the form of a mountain chain, end- 
ing in the southwest in a peak loftier than any of the 
others. For the rest, the effect of the snow and ice, 
together with the absence of any objects with which 
they can be compared, aid in exaggerating the height 
of all irregularities and, as a matter of fact, the results 
of the measurements taken by M. Dumoulin showed all 
these mountains, which then appeared to us gigantic 
and equal to the Alps and Pyrenees at least, to be after 
all of very medium size. Mount Bransfield, for in- 
stance, was not more than about 2,068 feet high, and 
Mount d'Urville, the loftiest of them all, about 3,047 
feet. Except for the islets grouped about the main- 
land, and a few peaks rising above the snow, the whole 
country is one long series of compact blocks of ice, and 
it is impossible to do more than trace the outlines of 
this ice-crust, those of the land itself being quite in- 
distinguishable. ' ' 

**0n the 1st of March soundings gave only eighty 
fathoms with a bottom of rock and gravel. On the 2nd 
of March, off Louis Philippe's Land an island was 
sighted which was named Astrolabe, and the day after 
a large bay, or rather strait, to which the name of 
Orleans Channel was given, was surveyed between Louis 
Philippe's Land and a lofty, rocky belt, which D'Ur- 
ville took for the beginning of Trinity Land, hitherto 
inaccurately laid down. 



124 The Seventh Continent 

''From the 26th of February to the 5th of March 
D'UrYille remained in sight of the coast, skirting along 
it a little distance off, hut unable entirely to regulate 
his course on account of the incessant fogs and rain. 
Everything bore witness to the setting in of a very 
decided thaw; the temperature rising at midday to five 
degrees above zero, whilst the ice was everywhere melt- 
ing and running off in little streams of water, or falling 
with a formidable crush into the sea in the form of 
blocks, the wind meanwhile blowing strongly from the 
west. 

''AH this decided D'Urville against the further prose- 
cution of his voyage. The sea was heavy, the rain and 
fog incessant. It was therefore necessary to leave this 
dangerous coast, and make for the north, where on the 
following day he surveyed the most westerly islands of 
the New Shetland group. 

"D'Urville next steered for Conception, and very 
arduous was the voyage there, for, in spite of every 
precaution the crews of both corvettes, especially that 
of the 'Zelee,' were attacked with scurvy. It was now 
that D'Urville measured the heights of some of the 
waves, with a view to the disproving of the charge 
of exaggeration which had been brought against him 
when he had estimated those he had seen break over 
Needle Bank at a height of between eighty and a 
hundred feet. 

"With the help of some of his officers, that there 
might be no doubt as to his accuracy, D'Urville meas- 
ured some waves of which the vertical height was thirty- 
five feet, and which measured not less than 1961/2 from 
the crest to the lowest point, making a total length of 
393 feet for a single wave. These measurements were 



The French Expeditian Under Captain D'Urville 125 

an answer to the ironical assertion of Aragfo, who, 
settling the matter in his own study, would not allow 
that a wave could exceed from five to six feet in height. 
One need not hesitate a single moment to accept as 
against tJie eminent but impulsive physicist, the 
measurements of the navigators who had made observa- 
tions upon the spot. 

*'0n the 7th of April, 1838, the expedition cast 
anchor in Talachuano Bay, where the rest so sorely 
needed by the forty scrofulous patients of the 'Zelee' 
was obtained. Thence D'Urville made for Valparaiso, 
after which, having entirely crossed Oceana, he cast 
anchor on the 1st January, 1839, off Guam, arrived at 
Batina in October, and went thence to Hobart Town, 
whence, on the 1st January, 1840, he started on a new 
trip into the Antarctic regions. 

*'At this time D'Urville knew nothing either of 
Balleny's voyage or the discovery of Sabrina's Land. 
He merely intended to go round the southern extremity 
of Tasmania with a view to ascertaining beneath which 
parallel he would meet with ice. He was under the 
impression that the space between 12° and 160° E. 
long, had not yet been explored, so that there was still 
a discovery to be made. 

**At first navigation was beset with the greatest diffi- 
culties. The swell was very strong, the currents bore 
in an easterly direction, the sanitary condition of the 
crews was far from satisfactory, and 58° S. lat. had 
not yet been reached when the pressure of the ice was 
ascertained. 

''The cold soon became very intense, the wind veered 
round to the W. N. W., and the sea became calm, a 
sure indication of the neighborhood of land or of ice. 



126 The Seventh Continent 

The former was the more generally received hypothesis, 
for the ice-islands passed were too large to have been 
formed in the open ocean. On the 18th January, S. 
lat. 64° was reached, and great perpendicular blocks 
of ice were met with, the height of which varied from 
ninety to 100 feet, whilst the breadth exceeded 3,000. 
The next day, January 19th, 1840, a new land was 
sighted, to which the name of Adelie was given. The 
sun was now burning hot, and the ice all seemed to be 
melting, immense streams running down from the sum- 
mits of the rocks into the sea. The appearance of the 
land was mountainous, covered as it was with snow. It ran 
from west to east, and seemed to slope gradually down 
to the sea. On the 21st the wind allowed the vessels 
to approach the beach, and deep ravines were soon 
made out, evidently the result of the action of melting 
snow. 

''As the ships advanced, navigation became more 
and more perilous, for the ice-islands were so numerous 
that there was hardly a large enough channel between 
them for any manoeuvring.'' 

''Their straight walls," says D'Urville, "rose far 
above our miasts, glowering down upon our vessels, 
which appeared of absurdly small dimensions, as com- 
pared with their huge masses. The spectacle spread 
out before us was alike grand and terrible. One might 
have fancied oneself in the narrow streets of a city 
of giants." 

The corvettes soon entered a huge basin, formed by 
the coast and ice-islands which had just been passed. 
The land stretched away in the southeast and northwest 
as far as the eye could reach. It was between three 
and four thousand feet high, but nowhere presented 



The French Expedition Under Captain D'Urville 127 

any very salient features. In the centre of the vast 
snow plain rose a few rocks. The two captains at once 
sent off boats with orders to bring back specimens 
which should testify to the discovery made. AVe quote 
from the account of Du Bouzet, one of the officers told 
off on this important survey. 

**It was nearly nine o'clock when to our great de- 
light we landed on the western side of the most west- 
erly and loftiest islet. The * Astrolabe ' boat had arrived 
one moment before ours, and its crew were already 
clambering up the steep sides of the rock, flinging down 
the penguins as they went, the birds showing no small 
surprise at being thus summarily dispossessed of the 
island, of which they had been hitherto the only in- 
habitants. I at once sent one of our sailors to unfurl 
a tricolour flag on these territories, which no human 
creature had seen or trod before ourselves. According 
to the old custom — to which the English have clung 
tenaciously — we took possession of them in the name of 
France, together with the neighboring coast, which we 
were prevented from visiting by the ice. The only 
representatives of the animal kingdom were the 
penguins, for in spite of all our researches we did not 
find a single shell. The rocks were quite bare, without 
so much as the slightest sign of a lichen. We had to 
fall back on the mineral kingdom. We each took a 
hammer and began chipping at the rock, but, it being 
of granite, was so extremely hard that we could only 
obtain very small bits. Fortunately in climbing to 
the summit of the island the sailors found some big 
pieces of rock broken off by the frost, and these they 
embarked in their boats. Looking closely at them, I 
noticed an exact resemblance between these rocks and 



128 The Seventh Continent 

the little bits of gneiss which we had found in the 
stomach of a penguin we had killed the day before. 
The little islet on which we landed is part of a group 
of eight or ten similar in character and form; they are 
between five hundred and six hundred yards from the 
nearest coast. We also noticed on the beach several 
peaks and a cape quite free from snow. These islets, 
close as they are to each other, seem to form a con- 
tinuous chain parallel with the coast, and stretching 
away from east to west." 

''On the 22nd and 23rd the survey of this coast 
was continued, but on the second day an iceberg 
soldered to the coast compelled the vessels to turn back 
towards the north, whilst at the same time a sudden 
and violent snow-storm overtook and separated them. 
The 'Zelee'' especially sustained considerable damage, 
but was able to rejoin her consort the next day. 

** Throughout it all, however, sight of the land had 
not, so to speak, been lost, but on the 29th the wind 
blew so strongly and persistently from the east, that 
D'Urville had to abandon the survey of Adelie Land. 
It was on this same day he sighted the vessels of Lieu- 
tenant Wilkes. 

* ' On the 30th January a huge wall of ice was sighted 
as to the nature of which opinions were divided. Some 
said it was a compact and isolated mass, others — and 
this was D'Urville 's opinion— thought these lofty 
mountains had a base of earth or of rocks, or that they 
might even be the bulwarks of a huge extent of land, 
which they called Claire. It was situated in 128° W. 
long. 

*'0n the 17th February the two corvettes once more 
cast anchor pff Hobart's Town, and on the 25th set 



The French Expedition Under Captain D'Urville 129 

sail again for New Zealand, where they completed the 
hydrographical surveys of Urainie. They then made 
for New Guinea, ascertained that it was not separated 
by a strait from the Louisrade Archipelago, surveyed 
Torres Strait with the greatest care, in spite of dangers 
from currents, coral reefs, etc. ; arrived at Timor on 
the 20th and returned to Toulon on the 8th of Novem- 
ber, after touching at Bourbon and St. Helena." 



CHAPTER VII 

THE AMERICAN EXPEDITION UNDER CAPTAIN WILKES 

IN May, 1836, Congress authorized a naval explor- 
ing expedition, consisting of the "Vincennes/' 
*' Peacock," "Relief," and the two schooners, *'Sea 
Gull, ' ' and * ' Flying Fish, ' ' under the command of Cap- 
tain Charles Wilkes. Its object was to explore and sur- 
vey the Southern Ocean; in view of the important 
interest of American commerce in the whale fisheries, 
to determine the existence of all doubtful islands and 
shoals; to discover and accurately fix the position of 
those which lie in or near the track pursued by our 
merchant vessels in that quarter, and that might 
hitherto have escaped the observation of scientific 
navigations. 

The squadron under Captain Charles Wilkes was 
unique insomuch as it was the first extended cruise 
of scientific exploration under the auspices of the 
United States Navy. That a tour of the world lasting 
four years, in which our ships visited the most remote 
corners of the earth, made a world's record in the 
Antarctic and carried the flag to islands and countries 
so remote that the native had never before seen a 
white man, is sufficiently remarkable, but that in less 
than sixty years that flag should wave in possession of 
these same remote islands makes this early voyage of 
investigation singularly interesting. 

130 



^ 



■s^'-iar 



-' ..> -^ <>'■ 




1 



PEACOCK IX CONTACT WITH ICEBERG 



The American Expediti&n Under Captain Wilkes 131 

Although the primary object of the expedition was 
to promote g^eneral interest in commerce and naviga- 
tion, yet every oj)portnnity was taken to extend the 
bounds of science, and promote the acquisition of 
knowledge. For the successful attainment of this, sev- 
eral scientific gentlemen accompanied the expeditions 
for the departments of philology, zoology, geology, 
mineralogy and botany with suitable artists and a horti- 
culturist. 

The squadron sailed from Hampton Roads the 19th 
of August 1838. After touching at Madeira they pro- 
ceeded to Cape de Verdes where an examination was 
made of certain localities of doubtful shoals. Rio de 
Janeiro was reached the 24th of November and here 
extended explorations were inaugurated. By permis- 
sion of the Brazilian Government an observatory was 
located on the Island of Enxados and here a series of 
pendulum observations and circummeridian altitudes 
taken for latitude, also those for magnetism, meteorology 
and the tides. On the 6th of January the squadron left 
Rio and stood to the southward for Rio Negro, which 
was reached the 27th. Here other valuable observations 
were secured and on February 2nd the ships sailed for 
Cape Horn, passing over the localities of those shoals 
supposed to exist in their track and through the Straits 
of St. Maire. Rounding the Cape they made Orange 
Harbor where immediate steps were taken to despatch 
the "Peacock" and ''Flying Fish" towards the ne 
plus ultra of Captain Cook. 

The "Relief" was ordered with the scientists to pass 
into the Straits of IMagellan, by the Break-nock pas- 
sage, for the purpose of enabling them to follow more 
fully their investigations. Captain Wilkes took the 



132 The Seventh Continent 

*' Porpoise" and ''Sea Gull" to fulfill his instructions 
for exploring the Antarctic Sea, between Powell's 
Group and Palmer's Land. Several small rocky islets 
were sighted to the S. S. E., of Palmer's Land and 
named. The South Shetlands were sighted and points 
verified as well as could be with the prevailing weather. 
The men suffered greatly from continued cold and 
dampness to which they were exposed. 

The "Peacock" and ''Flying Fish" encountered ad- 
verse gales and boisterous weather by which their 
progress was greatly impeded. They fell in with a firm 
barrier of ice within sixty miles of Cook 's furthest. The 
safety of both vessels was greatly imperiled and their 
escape due to the skill of their commanders. 

Meanwhile the "Relief," which had been ordered 
to pass through the Straits of Magellan and return to 
Orange Harbor by the Straits of Le Maire, thus af- 
fording the scientists aboard ample opportunity to 
pursue their separate investigations, met with disaster 
at the Island of Noir in the loss of all her anchors, and 
forced to abandon her cruise, she made for Callao 
where after a brief stop at Valparaiso the remainder of 
the squadron joined her with the exception of the "Sea 
Gull ' ' which parted from the ' ' Flying Fish " in a storm 
off Cape Horn, April 29, 1839, and was never heard 
from again. An examination of the Pomonton Group 
or low Archipelago, verified the assertion of Duperry 
and Beachy that no island existed between Clermont 
de Tonnere and Serle Island. Connected surveys were 
made of the harbor of Matavia, Papoa, Tanoa, and 
Papieti. A rendezvous was effected the 10th of Novem- 
ber in the Harbor of Apia and the squadron then sailed 
for Sydney. 



The American Expedition Under Captain Wilkes 138 

** Believing that the gentlemen in cliarge of the scien- 
tific department," writes Captain Wilkes, ''could be 
more advantageously employed in investigations in New 
Holland and New Zealand, I ordered them to pass the 
next three months in these two countries, obtaining 
information and making collections of their several de- 
partments, and to pass over such portions of the coun- 
try as they should find the most interesting. This was 
done and it gives me great pleasure to bear testimony 
to the valuable information obtained of these interest- 
ing countries." 

After rejoining the ships at the Bay of Islands, the 
squadron set sail December 26th, 1839, and a second 
plunge into the Antarctic was made. 

''From my first year's experience among the ice," 
writes Captain Wilkes, "I had determined to leave each 
vessel, on our arrival at the icy barrier, to act by her- 
self nntil the appointed rendezvous was reached. . . . 
On the second of January we lost sight of the 'Flying 
Fish,' and on the third of the 'Peacock.' The 'Vin- 
cennes' and 'Porpoise' made the icy barrier on the 
11th January, in latitude 64° 11' S., longitude 164° 53' 
E., and separated in a fog the following day. The 'Pea- 
cock' made the ice on the 15th, and the 'Flying Fish' 
on the 21st of January." 

From the first of January, dense fogs and heavy 
snow squalls alternated with open and favorable 
weather. Icebergs were encountered in latitude 61° 08' 
South, and longitude 162° 32' E. From this time on 
every one was on the qui vive to be the first to see 
land which was confidently felt to be at no great dis- 
tance. Indications of their approach to a continental 
mass were evidenced in discolorations of the water. 



134 The Seventh Continent 

dark earth-colored veins and dusty icebergs, and an 
abundance of marine life, including sea elephants in 
numbers. 

On January 16th the three vessels saw in the distance 
a dark outline so different from the ice-islands that they 
were confident it was land. The ships now coasted in 
a westerly course along the ice barrier, now and then 
catching a glimpse of the distant and unapproachable 
terra firma. In spite of cold and fatigue and being worn 
out with excitement, the officers and men persisted in 
a determined effort to force the barrier until on the 
24th and 25th of January the "Peacock" suffered such 
damage, having lost her rudder in the ice, and with 
bulwarks partially torn off, she was forced to return 
to Sydney, in a shattered and sinking condition. 

Meanwhile the "Yincennes" and ''Porpoise" kept 
on to the west, and on January 30th the former dis- 
covered Piner's Bay, in latitude 66° 45' S., and longi- 
tude 140° 02' 30" E. The name of Antarctic Continent 
was now first given to the newly found land. 

''On the 14th of February, the greatest extent of 
coast in sight at any one time, computed to be about 
seventy-five miles in length, and its highest land attain- 
ing an elevation of three thousand feet, was discovered 
in latitude 65° 59' 40" S. and longitude 106° 18' 42". 

On the same day the progress of the "Porpoise" was 
checked by an immense wall of ice trending far to the 
north, and she then commenced her return, arriving at 
the Bay of Islands on the 26th of March. 

The "Vincennes" was stopped by the same barrier 
on the 17th instant, whereupon her head was turned 
toward Van Diemens Land. Unfavorable winds cut 
her off from Hobart Town, and she proceeded to Sydney, 



The American Expedition Under Captain ^Vilkes 135 

where she joined the "Peacock" on the Uth of March. 

"During this cruise, a line of coast, plainly visible, 
except at occasional intervals, was discovered, between 
the 104th and 159th meridians, eastern longitude, and 
the parallels of 64° and 67°. The furthest point south 
which the vessels were able to reach was Disappointment 
Bay, in latitude 67° 04' 30" South and 147° 30' E. A 
very near approach was made to the magnetic pole, 
which, according to the observations obtained, was sup- 
posed to be in about latitude 70° S. and longitude 14° 
E." 

"Other discoveries by different navigators prior or 
subsequent to the exploration of the American squad- 
ron, have verified what they saw, and contributed addi- 
tional information; yet the merit of having made the 
first discovery of a large body of land, supposed, though 
not absolutely proven, to be an extensive continent, is 
clearly their due. Captain Biscoe, the discoverer of 
Enderby Land, believed that he saw detached portions 
of the same land in 1831, when in the brig 'Tula.' In 
July, 1838, Captain Balleny was sent out from London, 
with two small vessels, owned by the Messrs. Enderby 
and other merchants, under special instructions to push 
as far south as possible, in search of land. He also 
thought he saw appearances of land in the direction of 
the American discoveries. But the examinations of 
Biscoe and Balleny were merely cursory, and there is 
no reliable evidence that they were not deceived by 
ice-banks or fog-banks, except the naked fact that a 
continent was subsequently discovered in this quarter 
by the exploring squadron under the command of Cap- 
tain Wilkes." 

Another claimant to the original discovery appeared 



136 The Seventh Continent 

in the Frencli Admiral Dumont d'Urville, but it will 
be noted that land was first discovered by the Ameri- 
can squadron, as has been stated, on the 16th of Janu- 
ary some distance further to the east than the Terre 
Adelie of d'Urville; although Captain Wilkes and his 
officers were not fully convinced on the subject till the 
19th instant, the very day of the French discovery. 
This fact, and that of the Americans necessarily fol- 
lowing in the track of d'Urville, after they reached, in 
their progress to the westward, the meridian where he 
was on the 19th instant, though they went far beyond 
him, are the only really plausible arguments on which 
the French base their claim to the prior discovery. 
(See note. Page 281, ''Jenkins Narrative of Voyage U. 
S. Exploring Expedition.") 

"By extending an unexpected favor," writes Greely, 
(Page 307 National Geographic Magazine, March, 1912.) 
"Wilkes gained an enemy. Contrary to his stringent 
official instructions, he sent to Captain J. C. Ross, R. N., 
then engaged in Antarctic research, a chart and letter 
showing own experiences and discoveries. This officer 
of the Royal Navy not only reflected severely on Wilkes, 
but omitted all of his discoveries from the admiralty 
chart, on which appeared those of every British 
sealer. ' ' 

Captain Wilkes in his own defense writes: 

"The credit of these discoveries has been claimed 
on the part of one foreign nation, and their extent, their 
actual existence, called into question by another; both 
having rival expeditions abroad, one at the same time, 
the other the year succeeding. 

"Each of these nations, with what intent I shall not 
stop to inquire, has seemed disposed to rob us of the 




I 



/\ 



VINCEXNES IX DISAPPOINTMENT BAY 
From a Sketch by C. Wilkes, U.S.N. 




The American Expedition Under Captain Wilkes 137 

honor by underrating the importance of tlieir own 
researches, and would restrict the Antai'ctic hind to 
the small parts they respectively saw. However willing 
I might be in a private capacity to avoid contesting 
tlieir statements, and let truth make its own way, I 
feel it due to the honor of our Hag to make a proper 
assertion of the priority of the claim of the American 
Expedition, and of the greater extent of its discoveries 
and researches.'* 

"I would ask in advance," he continues, "who was 
there prior to 1840, either in this country or in Europe, 
that had the least idea that any large body of land 
existed to the south of New Holland? and who is there 
now that doubts the fact, whether he admits it to be a 
vast continent, or contends that it is only a collec- 
tion of islands?" 

"Examine all the maps and charts published up to 
that time, and upon them will any traces of such land 
be found? They will not, and for the very best of 
reasons — none was knowai or even suspected to exist. 
We ourselves anticipated no such discovery, the indica- 
tions of it were received with doubt and hesitation; I 
myself did not venture to record in my private journal 
the certainty of land, until three days after those 
best acquainted with its appearance in these high lati- 
tudes were assured of the fact; and finally, to remove 
all possibility of doubt, and to prove conclusively that 
there was no deception in the case, views of the same 
land were taken from the vessels in three different posi- 
tions, with the bearings of its peaks and promontories, 
by whose intersection their position is nearly as well 
established as the peaks of any of the islands we sur- 
veyed from the sea. 



138 The Seventh Continent 

*'A11 doubt in relatioii to the reality of our dis- 
covery gradually wore away, and towards the close of 
the cruise of the 'Vincennes' along the icy barrier, the 
mountains of the Antarctic Continent became familiar 
and of daily appearance, insomuch that the log-book, 
which is guardedly silent as to the time and date of 
its being first observed, now speaks throughout of 'the 
land^'' 

While in sight of this newly discovered continent, 
Captain Wilkes gives a number of exciting incidents 
which were all in the day's work. 

''The sight of the ice bergs around us, all of large 
dimensions, was beautiful," he writes. "The greatest 
number in sight at one time was noted, and found to 
be more than a hundred, varying from a quarter of 
a mile to three miles in length. We took the most open 
route, and by eleven o'clock had run upwards of forty 
miles through them. We had the land now in plain 
view, but the weather soon began to thicken and the 
breeze to freshen. At noon it was so thick that every- 
thing was hidden, and no observation was obtained. 
The ship was hove-to, but shortly after again put 
under way, making several tacks to keep my position, 
which I felt was becoming a critical one, in case a 
gale should ensue. I therefore looked carefully over 
my chart, and was surprised at the vast number of 
icebergs that appeared on it. At 2 p. m. the barometer 
began to fall, and the weather to change for the worse. 
At 5 p. M. a gale was evidently coming on, so we took 
three reefs in the topsails. It appeared now that cer- 
tain wreck would ensue, should we remain where we 
were; and after much consideration, I made up my 
mind to retrace my way, and seek the open space forty 



The American Expedition Under Captain Wilkes 139 

miles distance, takiiij^ for a landmark, a remarkable 
berg that had been last entered on the chart, and which 
wonld be a gnide to my course out. I therefore stood 
for its position. The weather was so thick, that it was 
necessary to run close to it, to be quite sure of recogniz- 
ing it, for on this seemed to depend our safety. About 
the estimated time we would take to pass over the 
distajice, an ice berg was made (we w^ere within one 
thousand feet of it) wdiich, at first view, I felt confi- 
dent was the one sought, but w-as not altogether satis- 
fied afterw'ards. I therefore again consulted my chart, 
and became more doubtful of it. Just at that moment 
I was called on deck by an officer, who informed me 
that there were ice bergs a short distance ahead ! Such 
proved to be the case, our path was beset with them, 
and it was evident we could not regain our route. To 
return was w^orse, so having but little choice left, I de- 
termined to keep on. 

** At 8 p. M. it began to blow very hard, with a violent 
snow-storm, circumscribing our view, and rendering it 
impossible to see more than two ship's lengths ahead. 
The cold was severe, and every spray that touched the 
ship w^as immediately converted into ice. At 9 p. m. the 
barometer still falling and the gale increasing, we re- 
duced sail to close-reefed foresail and trysails, under 
which we passed numerous icebergs, some to windw^ard, 
and some to leeward of us. At 10 h. 30 m. we found 
ourselves thickly beset w^ith them, and had many 
narrow escapes, the excitement became intense; it re- 
quired a constant change of helm to avoid those close 
aboard; and we w^ere compelled to press the ship with 
canvas in order to escape them, by keeping her to wind- 
ward. We thus passed close along their weather sides, 



140 The Seventh Continent 

and distinctly heard the roar of the surf dashing 
against them. We had, from time to time, glimpses 
of the obscure outline, appearing as though immediately 
above us. After many escapes, I found the ships so 
covered with ice, and the watch so powerless in manag- 
ing her, that a little after midnight, on the 29th (Janu- 
ary, 1840) I had all hands called. Scarcely had they 
been reported on deck, when it was made known to me 
that the gunner, Mr. "Williamson, had fallen, broken his 
ribs, and otherwise injured himself, on the icy deck. 

"The gale at this moment was awful. We found we 
were passing large masses of drift-ice, and ice-islands 
became more numerous. At a little after one o'clock 
it was terrific, and the sea was now so heavy that I 
was obliged to reduce sail still further, the fore and 
main-top-sails were clewed up, the former was furled, 
but the latter, being a new sail, much difficulty was 
found in securing it. 

"A seaman, by the name of Brooks, in endeavoring 
to execute the order to furl, got on the lee yardarm, 
and the sail having blown over the yard, prevented his 
return. Not being aware of his position until it was 
reported to me from the forecastle, he remained there 
some time. On my seeing him he appeared stiff, and 
clinging to the yard and lift. Spilling lines were at 
once rove, and an officer with several men sent aloft 
to rescue him, which they succeeded in doing by passing 
a bowline around his body and dragging him into the 
top. He was almost frozen to death. Several of the 
best men were completely exhausted with cold, fatigue, 
and excitement, and were sent below. This added to 
our anxieties, and but little hope remained to me of 
escaping. I felt that neither prudence nor foresight 



The American Expedition Under Captain Wilkes 141 

could avail in protecting the ship and crew. All that 
could be done, was to be prepared for any emergency, 
by keeping every one at his station. 

**We were swiftly dashing on," continues Captain 
Wilkes, ''for I felt it necessary to keep the ship under 
rapid way through the water, to enable her to steer and 
work quickly. Suddenly many voices cried out, 'Ice 
ahead!' then 'On the weather bow!' and again 'On the 
lee bow and abeam ! ' All hope of escape seemed in a 
moment to vanish, return we could not, as large ice- 
islands had just been passed to leeward; so we dashed 
on, expecting every moment to crash. The ship, in an 
instant, from having her lee guns under water, rose 
upright, and so close \vere we passing to leeward of 
one of these huge islands, that our try-sails were almost 
thrown aback by the eddy wind. The helm was put 
up to pay the ship off, but the proximity of those under 
our lee bade me keep my course. All was now still 
except the distant roar of the wild storm, that was 
raging behind us, before, and above us; the sea was in 
great agitation, and both officers and men were in the 
highest degree excited. The ship continued her way, 
and as w^e proceeded, a glimmering of hope arose, for 
we accidentally had hit upon a clear passage, which 
in fine weather w^e should not dare to have ventured 
through. The suspense endured while making our way 
between them was intense, but of short duration, and 
my spirits rose as I heard the whistling of the gale 
grow louder and louder before us, as we emerged from 
the passage. We had escaped an awful death and were 
again tempest tost." 

On February 14th Wilkes wTites: 

**At daylight we again made sail for the land, beat- 



142 The Seventh Continent 

ing in for it until 11 a. m., when we found any further 
progress quite impossible. I then judged that it was 
seven or eight miles distant. The day was remarkably 
clear, and the land very distinct. By measurement, 
we made the extent of coast of the Antarctic Continent, 
which was then in sight, seventy-five miles, and by ap- 
proximate measurement three thousand feet high. It 
was entirely covered with snow. Longitude at noon, 
106° 18' 42" E., latitude 65° 59' 40" South, variation 
75° 05' Westerly. On running in, we had passed several 
ice bergs greatly discolored with earth, and finding we 
could not approach the shore any nearer, I determined 
to land on the largest ice-island that seemed accessible, 
to make dip, intensity, and variation observations. On 
coming up with it, about one and a half miles from 
where the barrier had stopped us. I hove the ship to, 
lowered the boats, and fortunately effected a landing. 
We found embedded in it, in places, boulders, stones, 
gravel, sand, and mud or clay. The largest specimens 
were of red sandstone and basalt. No signs of stratifica- 
tion were to be seen in it, but it was in places formed 
of icy conglomerate (if I may use the expression) com- 
posed of large pieces of rocks, as it were frozen together, 
and the ice was extremely hard and flint-like. The 
largest boulder embedded in it was about five or six 
feet in diameter, but being situated under the shelf 
of the ice berg, we were not able to get at it. Many 
specimens were obtained and it was amusing to see 
the eagerness and desire of all hands to possess them- 
selves of a piece of the Antarctic Continent. 

"In the centre of this ice berg was found a pond of 
most delicious water over which was a scum of ice, about 
ten inches thick. We obtained from it about five hun- 



The American Expedition Under Captain ^Vilkes 143 

dred gallons. We remained upon this ice berj]: several 
hours, and the men amused themselves to their hearts' 
content in sliding. The pond was three feet deep, ex- 
tending over an area of an acre, and contained suffi- 
cient water for half a dozen ships." 

Wilkes writes on February 17th: ** About 10 a.m. 
we discovered the barrier extending in a line ahead, and 
running north and south as far as the eye could reach. 
Appearances of land were also seen to the southwest, 
and its trending seemed to be to the northward. We 
were thus cut off from any further progress to the west- 
ward, and obliged to retrace our steps." 

On the 19th he records that the barrier trended more 
to the northeast and ' ' we not unf requently entered bays 
so deep as to find ourselves, on reaching the extremity, 
cut off by the barrier, and compelled to within a few 
miles of the place where we had entered." 

**The wind again hauled to the westward, which dis- 
appointed me, as I was in hopes of getting to the posi- 
tion where Cook saw the ice in 1773, being now nearly 
in the same latitude. It was less than one hundred 
miles to the westward of us; and little doubt can exist 
that its situation has not materially changed in sixty- 
seven years." 

"The observations of the squadron during this 
season's Antarctic cruise," continues Wilkes, ''together 
with those of the preceding year, would seem to confirm 
the opinion that very little change takes place in the 
line of ice. It may be inferred that the line of per- 
petual congelation exists in a lower latitude in some 
parts of the southern hemisphere than in others. The 
icy barrier retreats several degrees to the south of the 
Antarctic Circle to the west of Cape Horn, while to 



144 The Seventh Continent 

the eastward it in places advances to the northward 
of that line, which is no doubt owing to the situation 
of the land. From the great quantities of ice to be 
found drifting in all parts of the ocean in high southern 
latitudes, I am induced to believe that the formation 
of the ice-islands is much more rapid than is generally 
supposed. The manner of the formation claimed much 
of my attention while among them, and I think it may 
be explained satisfactorily and without difficulty. In 
the first place I conceive that ice requires a nucleus, 
whereon the fogs, snow, and rain, may congeal and 
accumulate; this the land affords. Accident then sep- 
arates part of this mass of ice from the land, when it 
drifts off, and is broken into many pieces, and this may 
again join that which is in process of formation. 

''From the accumulation of snow, such a mass speed- 
ily assumes a flat or table-topped shape, and continues 
to increase. As these layers accumulate the field-ice 
begins to sink, each storm (there of frequent occur- 
rence) tending to give it more weight. The part which 
is now attached to the land remains aground, whilst 
that which is more remote being in deep water is free 
to sink. The accumulated weight on its outer edge, pro- 
duces fissures or fractures at the point where it takes 
the ground, which the frosts increase. Thus separated, 
the surface again becomes horizontal, and continues 
to receive new layers from snow, rain and even fogs, 
being still retained to the parent mass by the force of 
attraction. The fogs have no small influence in con- 
tributing to the accumulation ; some idea may be formed 
of the increase from this cause, from the fact that 
during a few hours the ice accumulated to the thickness 
of a quarter of an inch or on our rigging and spars, 



The American Expedition Under Captain Wilkes 145 

though neither rain nor snow fell. 

*'The temperature of even the summer months beinp: 
rarely above the freezing point, masses of a thousand 
feet in thickness might require but a few years to form. 
Ice bergs were seen in all stages of formation, from 
five to two hundred feet above the surface, and eacli 
exposed its stratification in horizontal layers from six 
inches to four feet in thickness. Wlien the ice bergs 
are fully fonned, they have a tabular and stratified ap- 
pearance, and are perfectly wall-sided, varying from 
one hundred and eighty to two hundred and ten feet 
in height. 

''In some places we sailed for more than fifty miles 
together, along a straight and perpendicular wall, from 
one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet in height, 
with the land behind it. The ice bergs found along 
the coast afloat were from a quarter of a mile to five 
miles in length ; their separation from the land may be 
effected by severe frost rending them asunder; after 
which the violent and frequent storms may be con- 
sidered a sufficient cause to overcome the attraction 
which holds them to the parent mass. In their next 
stage they exhibit the process of decay, being found 
fifty or sixty miles from the land, and for the most part 
with their surfaces inclined at a considerable angle to 
the horizon.*' 

** During their drift to the northward," continues 
Captain Wilkes, "on reaching lower latitudes, and as 
their distance from the land increases, they are found 
in all stages of decay; some forming obelisks, others 
towers and Gothic arches; and all more or less perfor- 
ated ; some exhibit lofty columns, with a natural bridge 
resting on them of a lightness and beauty inconceiv- 



146 The Seventh Continent 

able in any other material. While in this state, they 
rarely exhibit any signs of stratification and some ap- 
pear to be formed of a soft porous ice ; others are quite 
blue; others again show a green tint, and are of hard 
flinty ice." 

The cruise of Captain Wilkes, remarkable and suc- 
cessful from every standpoint, received scant apprecia- 
tion from the people of the United States. Mr. Edwin 
Balch, already quoted as an authority on south polar 
explorations, says: 

''No finer achievement has been accomplished in the 
annals of the Arctic or of the Antarctic. With un- 
suitable, improperly equipped ships, amid ice bergs, 
gales, snow storms, and fogs, Wilkes followed an un- 
known coast-line, for a distance exceeding in length 
the Ural Mountain range. It is the long distance which 
Wilkes traversed which makes the results of his cruise 
so important; for he did not merely sight the coast in 
one or two places, but he hugged it for such a distance 
as to make sure the land was continental in dimen- 
sions." And he concludes: ''It is only the exact truth 
to assert that the honor of recognizing the existence of 
the continent of Antarctica belongs to Charles Wilkes 
and to the United States Exploring Expedition." 

The weather became stormy and the season was so 
far advanced that Captain Wilkes deemed it inadvisable 
to proceed farther westward, he therefore bore up for 
New Zealand but concluded afterwards to put into 
Sydney, where he found the "Peacock" undergoing 
repairs. 

Upon leaving New Zealand the objective point was 
the Fiji Islands. Surveys were made of the islands 
and reefs of this vicinity, "consisting of one hundred 



The American Expeditmn Under Captain Wilkes 147 

and fifty-four islands and fifty detached reefs, and 
numerous harbors surveyed and sounded out." A dis- 
tressing event closed the labors here, the massacre of 
two young: officers. Lieutenant J. A. Underwood and 
Midshipman Wilkes Henry, while endeavoring to barter 
with the natives for necessary supplies. 

Lieutenant George Colvoccorresses, U. S. N., gives an 
account of the disaster: 

** Lieutenants Alden and Underw^ood came to anchor 
on the reef at Malololie, w^hich is connected with the 
large island IMalolo by a coral isthmus, bare at low 
water. Here Mr. Underwood landed alone, and soon 
encountered a boy with an armful of clubs, who, when 
asked whether any provisions could be purchased in 
the neighborhood, answered 'Plenty, plenty.' Mr. 
Underwood directed him to lead the way to the place he 
referred to. On the beach they fell in with a party 
of men who were quite as much confused at the sight 
of Mr. Underwood as the boy had been before. At this 
Juncture, Lieutenant Alden recalled Mr. Underwood 
by signals, and this, perhaps, prevented an attack on 
him that afternoon. The next moniing (July 24th) the 
* Peacock's' cutter joined the other boats. The scarcity 
of provisions, and the distance of the schooner, whose 
own necessities were also pressing, now made it abso- 
lutely necessary to obtain supplies ashore. The natives 
pretended to have an abundance of food at the village 
of Malolo-levn, but could not be induced to transport 
it across the isthmus, which w^as impassable for boats, 
except at high water. While trying to think of some 
way of removing this difficulty, a man, who called him- 
self the orator of the town, arrived, and delivered an 
invitation from his chief to go to Malolo-levn, and take 



148 The Seventh Continent 

off a present that had been prepared for them on the 
beach. This story of Fiji manufacture was little 
credited, but as there was reason to believe that pro- 
visions might be purchased from some of the natives, 
and the case was urgent, Mr. Underwood, whose boat 
drew the least water, volunteered to make the attempt. 
Accordingly, in a few minutes he shoved off, but after 
pulling a short distance, observing that he had no one 
with him who could talk with the natives, he returned 
and asked for a New Zealander, named John Sack. 
Having taken this man, he again shoved off and pulled 
for the beach. Mr. Alden followed as soon as the tide 
permitted, and Mr. Emmons, after taking a round of 
angles. Lieutenant Alden lost no time, after anchor- 
ing off the town, in getting a chief in his boat as a 
hostage for Mr. Underwood's safety. This native early 
attempted to escape in a canoe, but Mr. Alden forced 
him back into the boat, and threatened to shoot him if 
he did so again. In the meantime, Mr. Underwood con- 
tinued to barter with the natives, and sent off a mes- 
sage to Mr. Alden for muskets and powder, which could 
not be supplied. Mr. Henry now requested permission 
to land, and during his absence Mr. Emmons arrived. 
A second message soon afterwards came from Mr. Un- 
derwood, requiring another hatchet to effect his^ 
purchase. Lieutenant Alden sent the hatchet, with 
directions to Mr. Underwood, that as the natives did 
not appear willing to trade, he should lose no time in 
coming off in his boat. At this moment the hostage 
jumped overboard, and made for the shore in a diagonal 
line to avoid being shot at. Mr. Alden immediately 
leveled his gun at him, and ordered him to stop; he 
slackened his pace for a moment, and then continued to 



The American Expedition Under Captain Wilkes 149 

retreat, upon which a ball was fired over his head, but 
none at his body, lest it might provoke an attack on 
Lieutenant Underwood. The escape of the hostage was 
evidently the preconcerted signal for an attack on the 
shore party. The chief immediately gave orders to 
make fight, by the cry of 'Turanga, Turanga.' Mr. 
Underwood was at this moment knocked down and 
wounded in the shoulder with a spear, but he recovered 
from the stunning effects of the blow and killed the 
native who threw the spear. At the same time two 
other natives seized the musket of a sailor, named Clark, 
and tried to wrest it from him. One of these he stabbed 
in the breast with his sheath-knife, the other i\Ir. Under- 
wood struck on the head with the butt end of his pistol, 
upon which both relinquished their hold. Lieutenant 
Underwood now^ ordered the crew to lose no time in 
regaining the boat, while he and Mr. Henry covered 
their retreat. In this effort he killed a native with one 
of his pistols, and was in the act of drawing the second 
from his belt, when a blow which he received on the 
head, brought him to the ground almost senseless. Re- 
covering himself, he renewed the contest, and killed 
another native, but at length received a cut across the 
forehead with a pole-axe, which terminated his valuable 
life. 

"In the meantime, Mr. Henry had shot one of the 
natives with his pistol-knife, and cut another down 
with the same "sveapon, but seeing Lieutenant Under- 
wood dead, was hastening to the boat, when a missile 
struck him on the back of the head and brought him 
to the ground. Clark, after shooting the man who 
killed Mr. Underwood, succeeded in regaining the boat, 
but was severely wounded. 



150 The Seventh Continent 

**0n seeing the attack, Lieutenants Alden and Em- 
mons steered for the shore with the boats under their 
charge. When the boats reached the beach, the 
savages retreated precipitately in the mangrove 
bushes, carrying with them their dead and wounded. 
Mr. Alden was among the first who landed and 
going up to Mr. Underwood he raised his head, and 
asked him if he had anything to send through him to 
his poor wife ; but, alas ! he was too far gone to speak. 
His skull was literally smashed to pieces. Some hopes 
were at first entertained that Mr. Henry was yet alive, 
but when a vein was opened no blood was found to 
flow. Both bodies had been stripped by the natives, 
and were laying on the sand whence they were conveyed 
to the boats. Mr. Emmons took possession of a canoe 
that the natives had abandoned, and no enemy being 
now in sight, the boats, with colors half-masted and 
union down, sailed across the isthmus and escaped by 
a passage, where they might have been attacked at 
great advantage. 

**The schooner by this time got under way without 
suspicion of any disaster. The sensation that was ex- 
cited when the boats arrived along-side and exposed 
to view the mangled bodies, can be more easily imagined 
than described. Captain Wilkes in particular, wept 
over them like a child. . . . There being no doubt from 
the reports of all parties present, that this outrage was 
entirely unprovoked. Captain Wilkes determined to in- 1 
flict the punishment it merited, and this, not because 
he wished to gratify any feelings of revenge, but for 
the sake of saving lives of other whites who might visit 
the Group after the expedition left. 

*'The first cutters of the 'Vincennes' and 'Peacock,' 



The American Expedition Under Captain ^Vilkes 151 

now in charge of Mr. Eld, were despatched to keep 
guard round the island, and prevent the escape of any 
of the inhabitants, while the schooner got underway, 
and proceeded to a small island to inter the dead. . . . 
It was a lonely arid suitable spot . . . the grave was 
dug deep in the pure white sand. . . . After the graves 
had been closed, three volleys were fired over them. 
Every precaution was then taken to obliterate all marks 
that might indicate to the odious cannibals, the resting 
place of the sacred dead. . . . The islet where they re- 
pose, is called Henry's island, and the cluster to which 
it belongs bears the name of Underwood's Group." 

Captain Wilkes gave the natives the severe chastise- 
ment they deserved, which resulted in their begging for 
mercy, and supplying the squadron with the water and 
supplies for which they stood so much in need. 

The Hawaiian Islands were next visited, when sim- 
ilar surveys to those already described were success- 
fully secured. Following upon these surveys came the 
interesting and valuable explorations of the Columbian 
River, the rendezvous of the squadron being Discovery 
Harbor of Vancouver. ''After a short stay," writes 
Captain Wilkes, "we proceeded up Admiralty Inlet, 
and Puget's Sound to Nisqually. Here the 'Vincennes' 
was moored, and boat expeditions were fitted out to 
survey these inland sounds; the 'Porpoise' proceeding 
with two of the 'Vincennes' ' boats to survey the 
northern portions of these inland waters, . . . two over- 
land parties were organized, one to pass the mountain 
range to the north of Mount Rainier, thence to strike 
the Columbia, near the Piscouse River to Ohanagan, and 
as high as Colville, on the Columbia River, a settlement 
of the Hudson Bay Company; crossing south to the 



152 The Seventh Continent 

missionary settlement of Chiunkanie, near the Spokane 
Eiver, thence south to Lapwai ... to Walla Walla on 
the Columbia, returning by way of the Yakima River, 
and over the mountain pass to Nisqually. ... A large 
party was despatched from Vancouver to California 
passing through the Willamette Valley, and striking 
the head waters of the Sacramento at its source, and 
down its valley to San Francisco, where it joined the 
squadron the latter part of October. ' ' 

Sailing from Shatport the squadron again touched 
at the Sandwich Islands and then pursued its course 
to the East Indies, homeward bound. *'I had been the 
whole cruise extremely desirous of visiting Japan, '* 
writes Captain Wilkes, ''but in consequence of the de- 
tention of the 'Peacock,' and her subsequent loss, I was 
obliged, on account of the lateness of the season, and 
to keep my engagements with the crews, to give up the 
intention of proceeding there." At Manila all the 
information was obtained that they possessed relative 
to the Sooloo Sea. "More discoveries or corrections 
have been made in this locality than any other portion 
of the Sooloo Sea, south of the Island of Mindoro. . . . 
This entrance was examined and surveyed and the route 
found to be safe and practicable, with ordinary care. 
. . . Anchored in Soong Roads, where we had com- 
munication with the Sultan of Sooloo, and received 
from him a stipulation in writing to protect the lives 
and property of our countrymen in case of shipwreck, 
and the terms on which he would receive our vessels 
and their cargoes. . . . From Sooloo we passed to the 
western entrance of this sea. The Strait of Balabac 
was examined and a chart made of its entrance, which 
will much facilitate our navigation to China and the 








Oti^. 



-J 



VIEW OF THE ANTARCTIC COXTIXEXT 
From a Sketch by C. Wilkes, U. S. S. 



The American Expedition Under Captain Wilkes 153 

Philippine Islands, durinp: tlio contrary monsoon, in- 
stead of passing through the Palawan passage. . . . 
From the Strait of Balabac I proceeded to Singapore, 
. . . thence through the Straits of Banca and Sunda, 
where I parted company with the brigs, directing them 
to proceed to St. Helena, and thence to Rio de Janeiro, 
and from thence to the United States. The "Vincennes" 
stopped at the Cape of Good Hope and at St. Helena 
. . . arriving at New York on the 9th of June, 1842, 
after an absence of three years and ten months." 

While summing up the very valuable scientific results 
of this successful expedition. Captain Wilkes calls at- 
tention to the economic value of the exploring squadron 
and the importance of the material gathered for the 
benefit of American protection and trade. He refers 
to the information relative to American commerce and 
navigation, the statistics of all countries visited, em- 
bracing the number of inhabitants, their products, 
manufactures, exports and imports, including the regu- 
lation of ports, rates of exchange, value of money, and 
duties on American vessels and products. The explora- 
tions of the squadron proved of great value to the 
whalers and their interests ''not only in diminishing 
the dangers which beset their path, by furnishing charts 
and sailing directions, but in opening new grounds for 
their fisheries, and affording the necessary information 
where they can obtain refreshments and supply their 
wants, by making regulations at the different groups 
with the natives to afford them ample protection for 
their lives and property. . . . Many distressed seamen 
have been brought home whom we found on the dif- 
ferent islands." 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE ENGLISH EXPEDITION UNDER CAPTAIN ROSS 

CAPTAIN JAMES CLARK ROSS, who com- 
manded the famous English expedition into the 
Antarctic regions in the years 1839-1843, was 
one of the most experienced of British naval officers in 
Polar research. James Ross was horn in 1800 and was 
the nephew of the famous John Ross, the explorer of 
Baffin's Bay; at the age of twelve young James had 
gone to sea; in the year 1818 he had accompanied his 
uncle on his first Arctic expedition. He had been a 
member of four subsequent expeditions to the same lati- 
tudes under the command of Parry. During the years 
1829 to 1833 he had been his uncle's constant com- 
panion. His accuracy in taking scientific observations 
had resulted in his discovery of the north magnetic pole 
— and he was well qualified through long experience for 
foot and sledge excursions across the ice. 

Second in command of this expedition was Captain 
Francis Rowdon Crozier, another experienced navigator. 
Crozier was also a veteran in Polar work, having been 
with Parry in 1824, and with Ross in Baffin's Bay in 
the year 1835. Crozier was the future companion of 
Franklin and died with him in the ill starred expedition 
in search of the north-west passage. 

With Captain Wilkes and Dumont d'Urville, Ant- 
arctic exploration was incidental to the scientific work 

154 



The English Expedition Under Captain Boss 155 

of a journey round the world, whereas the instructions 
given to Captain James Ross by the British Admiralty 
specified as the chief object of the three years' voyage, 
discovery and exploration of the regions within the 
Antarctic Circle. Only as repairs and damages were 
needed to his ships or to recruit the health of his crew 
was he expected to leave these desolate regions. 

The ''Erebus" and ''Terror" w^re vessels chosen for 
their strength to withstand the ice, they were fitted with 
the most modern equipment and manned by a well 
seasoned crew, familiar with Polar navigation. On Sep- 
tember 29th, 1839, the "Erebus" and "Terror" left 
England and touched at Madeira, Cape Verde Islands, 
St. Helena and the Cape of Good Hope. 

Ross reached Kerguelen's Island early in April where 
he set up his instruments and numerous observations 
were taken. The 29th of April had been fixed for 
simultaneous magnetic observations in different parts 
of the w^orld, and by an interesting coincidence magnetic 
storms which had been recently registered in Europe 
and Canada were observed in these latitudes. 

Dr. R. McCormick, R, N., Chief Medical Officer, 
Naturalist and Geologist of the expedition, describes 
the singular barrenness of this Island, where the vege- 
tation consists chiefly of mosses, lichens, grasses and 
the famous cabbage peculiar to the island, — an excellent 
antiscorbutic which attains a growth of a foot or 
two elevation above the soil, — but where, nevertheless, 
whole forests in the form of fossilized wood, lie en- 
tombed beneath vast lava streams. In one instance, a 
trunk of a tree seven feet in circumference was found 
buried beneath the debris of this "truly volcanic land." 

"Here, as the 'Southern Cross' appears to us in the 



156 The Seventh Continent 

Zenith/' he writes, ''the four stars of which it is com- 
posed have a position nearly parallel with the horizon, 
the smallest star being uppermost, and to the right the 
largest, a star of the first magnitude, beneath it, the two 
others of the second magnitude forming the left side 
of the 'Cross.' This constellation, indeed, itself consti- 
tutes the 'Pole Star' of the southern heavens there 
being no single star correspondent with the 'Pole Star' 
of our own hemisphere. Below the cross the two fine 
stars of the ' Centaur, ' stars of the first magnitude, shine 
with the greatest brilliancy, looking like pointers to 
the 'Southern Cross.' The brightest of them, Alpha 
Centauri, is remarkable, not only as being the nearest 
of the fixed stars to us, and yet so distant that it takes 
above three years for a ray of its light to reach us, but 
it is also one of the double stars, consisting of two 
suns revolving round each other in an orbit so elongated 
as to occupy above seven-eight years in the period of 
its revolution. These suns are of an orange-yellow 
colour. 

"In the course of the precession of the equinoxes — 
said to occupy an interval of some 26,000 years in the 
completion of the circuit of the heavens, the star 'Vega^ 
in the constellation 'Lyra' will in some 12,000 years 
have become the 'Pole Star' of the northern hemi- 
sphere; when 'Canopus' in the southern hemisphere, will 
take the place of the 'Cross' in the Antarctic heavens 
as the 'Pole Star.' 

"The four stars of the 'Southern Cross' are them- 
selves said to be moving in contrary directions, and 
with .unequal velocities, so that this constellation, if 
such be the case, will not always retain its present 
form. The 'Coal Sack,' a pear-shaped, black void in 



The English Expedition Under Captain Ross 157 

space, situated near the 'Cross' has only one small star 
visible to the naked eye, yet the great white * Cloud of 
IMagellan' (Unbecular major) under the telescope un- 
folds to view a rich group of coloured stars, of ex- 
treme beauty, clustered round the star 'Kappa,' a deep 
red, central one, amid others of varied shades of blue 
and green, studding the depths of space with brilliant 
gems of every hue. 

"Should these far distant suns have planets revolv- 
ing round them like our own sun, what varied and 
beautiful coloured days must result from these primary 
colours, some days perhaps red, others blue or green, or 
a neutral tint from a combination of these. How won- 
derful is that abyss of space, through which it is 
thought our own sun is revolving round some other 
vast and central unseen orb, at a velocity of four miles 
a second, in the direction of the constellation * Hercules, ' 
towards a point in the heavens, in which the 'Pleiades' 
becomes the centre of the movement of revolution of 
the solar system." 

At Hobart Town, Ross heard from John Franklin 
who was there as Governor, of the discoveries of Du- 
mont d'Urville. Captain Wilkes claims that before Ross 
left England he knew of the Wilkes discoveries. With 
this information Ross worked East to longitude 170°, as 
had Bellamy, hoping to find open water in that direc- 
tion. Passing the Auckland and Campbell Islands he 
ploughed a laborious passage through numerous ice 
islands until January 1st, 1841, when he crossed the 
Antarctic Circle; the thermometer stood at 31°, there 
was a fall of snow and a w^esterly wind, several ice 
bergs were in sight, and numerous whales were spout- 
ing. On this day "a box-cloth jacket and trousers, a 



158 The Seventh Continent 



pair of water-boots, two pairs of hose, two comforters, 
a red frock, and a Welsh wig" were served out to the 
officers of the ship's company. 

On January 5th Boss boldly entered the pack. ''It 
required strict attention to the helm," writes McCor- 
mick, "in working through the narrow lanes and open- 
ings, to avoid coming in collision with the larger masses, 
some of which had cracks in them, tinted with the finest 
azure blue. Looking towards the horizon, the pack in 
the distance presented a uniform white surface from 
the dark lanes of water between being concealed. The 
birds about us were chiefly the white petrel, that har- 
binger of ice, never met with beyond the vicinity of 
the pack, a gigantic and stormy petrel, and a pair of 
penguins; the latter, sitting on a piece of ice on the 
port-bow, plunged into the sea as the ship passed." 

By the 9th the ships had penetrated 134 miles 
through the pack. As Koss advanced further south- 
ward, the constant fogs and snow storms became more 
and more dense — but encouraged by the reflection in 
the sky of open sea beyond, he kept steadily on, and on 
this day entered a large space of open water. 

On Monday, January 11th, 1841, land was sighted 
about 100 miles distant, the ships then stood in latitude 
71° 14' 45" South, longitude 171° 15'. *'It was best 
seen on the port-bow," says McCormick, ''where I 
could just trace a lofty mountain, having a steep 
escarpment, longitudinally streaked white with snow. 
. . . But the whole of the upper part of this vast moun- 
tain range was an entire glaciation beneath a white 
mantle of snow, relieved only at intervals by the dark 
apex of some hummock or projecting mountain peak, 
peering through the snow-clad mantel. The weather 



The English Expedition Under Captain Uoss 159 

was all that could be desired for giving effect to such 
a magnificent panorama, as gradually unfolded itself 
like a dissolving view to our astonished eyes. The sky 
was a clear azure blue, with the most brilliant sun- 
shine, the thermometer at 31°, with a fresh breeze from 
the westward. The refraction in the atmosphere caused 
the land to appear visible at a much greater distance, 
for we were all day standing in towards it. The 
northern side, which w^e were approaching, presented 
a very remarkable appearance; a cluster of white, 
angular-shaped hummocks or small peaks in the back- 
ground, resembling a vast mass of crystallization, hav- 
ing a steep wall or escarpment of black rock like lava 
in the foreground next to the sea, near which several 
large ice bergs lay aground, and evidently had been 
separated from the barrier, for where the land trended 
to the southeast, a whole line of them were in process 
of formation, and off which a small island with several 
rocks are grouped, from which a narrow stream of ice 
extends out to seaw^ard. " 

The following day Ross and other officers landed on 
an islet lying off the mainland and formally took pos- 
session of the land, christening the ground on which they 
hoisted the British colours ** Possession Island." 

''Abernethy, Captain Ross's old follower, and our 
gunner and ice-master, steered the boat as coxswain," 
writes McCormick. ''It was a long pull along shore, 
tossed about by the swell amongst the ice, in a fruit- 
less attempt to reach a projecting head-land against a 
strong current setting us into the bight amid a great 
ice-ripple, so that we were obliged to bear up and run 
through an opening in the ice to leeward, a perfect 
race, so rapid that had the water been shallow enough 



160 The Seventh Continent 

to ground the boat, she would have been upset in- 
stantly. The margin or ice-foot on which we at last 
effected a landing took us upon a nearly level surface, 
a guano-bed in fact, formed by a colony of penguins for 
ages past. It had attained such a depth as to give an 
elastic sensation under the feet, resembling a dried up 
peat bog. It would afford valuable cargoes of guano for 
whole fleets of ships for years to come, could they only 
penetrate the vast packs of ice we have just forced our 
way through at such risk, and which constitute an im- 
passable barrier to ships as they are ordinarily con- 
structed. 

''The penguins indeed, with their young all covered 
with down, formed such a rookery here, that the whole 
place and sea around seemed alive with them. In 
such countless myriads were they congregated, not only 
over the incubation area below, but up the sides of the 
black lava rocks in tier above tier to the very summit, 
which attained the height of 300 feet, flanking the 
guano bed on the right, that it was like a thistle bed 
to pass through, so thickly formed were their ranks, 
and without kicking them to right and left there was 
no getting through their dense legions. The old birds 
stoutly defended their young, attacking the intruder 
on their domain in front and rear with open mouth, 
sending forth at the same time such harsh notes of 
defiance, in which the whole colony united in concert, 
that we could scarcely hear each other speak so as to 
be understood. These sturdy, bold birds, standing erect 
on their tails, with the horny feathers of both head 
and neck ruffled in anger, their flipper-like wings ex- 
tended from their sides, looked altogether the most 
ludicrous and grotesque objects imaginable. 



The English Expedition Under Captain Ross 161 

*'In many places the young birds were p^ronped to- 
gether in knots of a dozen or two, encircled by the 
old birds forming a barrier around them. 

"Not a single specimen of an cg;g was to be found, 
the season of incubation having already passed. On 
taking the water they slid down the icy margin of the 
ice-foot on their tails and the soles of their feet, dashing 
into the sea with only their heads appearing above the 
surface, some leaping out like bonito in pursuit of fly- 
ing fish ; and I observed one bird make a most extraor- 
dinary leap upwards from the sea to the top of a per- 
pendicular piece of ice, certainly not less than a fathom 
in height above the water, alighting on its feet like a 
cat. The perfume arising from this colony was cer- 
tainly not of an Arabian sweetness, for even before the 
boat reached the shore the scent wafted off upon the 
waters was all but stifling. The population of this 
colony might be estimated by millions.'* 

"After the flag was unfurled, hoisted, and the 
Queen's health drunk in a glass of sherry by each of 
the party," continues McCormick, "three cheers were 
given on taking possession of the land no less a do- 
main than a continent, in all probability exceeding in 
magnitude the continents of either the Old or the New 
World, in the name of Her Majesty. Its productions 
are indeed only ice and guano. We shoved off from this 
lone islet in the boat at 11.15 a. m., with the Terror's 
boat in company, containing her captain and some of 
her officers, who had landed after us." 

Captain Ross, having ascertained that the eastern 
side of this immense coast sloped towards the south, 
whilst the northern line stretched to the northwest, de- 
termined to skirt the eastern beach, and to force if 



162 The Seventh Continent 

possible a passage in a southerly direction, beyond the 
magnetic pole which he placed near 76° South latitude. 
As he considered his new discovery to be a very large 
island he purposed returning by the west, thus circum- 
navigating the land he had discovered. 

To the principal peaks of the mountain chain which 
Boss described as extending along the coast, he gave 
the names of Herschell, Whewell, Wheatstone, Murchi- 
son, and Melbourne. Eoss reached his most southerly 
latitude on January 23rd. On this day, a Saturday, 
McCormick records: 

*' Thick weather, with snow, blowing fresh, and a 
short head-sea. Our latitude at noon, by dead reckon- 
ing, made us to the southward of "Weddell's farthest 
south, and consequently nearer to the §outh Pole than 
any other ship has hitherto attained; Weddell's farthest 
being in latitude 74° 15', ours 74° 23' D. E., in the 
longitude 175° 35' E. 

*' Captain Eoss, on the occasion, spent the evening in 
the gun room with us, and our toast was 'Better luck 
stiir.^' 

Southerly gales, violent snow storms and annoying 
fogs greatly hampered the advance of the ships, never- 
theless they managed to pursue their course, and on 
January 27th, they landed on a small volcanic island 
in latitude 76° 8' South latitude, 168° 12' East longi- 
tude, to which they gave the name of Franklin Island. 
The following day was witnessed one of the most inter- 
esting spectacles of the voyage. McCormick writes: 

**We were startled by the most unexpected discovery 
in this vast region of glaciation, of a stupendous vol- 
canic mountain in a high state of activity. At ten 
A. M. upon going on deck, my attention was arrested 




CATCniXG THE GREAT PEXGUIX 
From Capl. Ross' Xarrative 



The English Expedition Under Captain lioss 163 

by what appeared at the moment to be a fine snow drift, 
driving from the summit of a lofty crater-shaped peak, 
rising from the centre of an island (apparently on the 
starboard bow). As we made a nearer approach, how- 
ever, this apparent snow drift resolveil itself into a 
dense column of black smoke, intermingled with flashes 
of red flame emerging from a magnificent volcanic vent, 
so near the South Pole, and in the very centre of a 
mighty mountain range encased in eternal ice and snow. 
The peak itself, which rises to an altitude of 12,400 
feet above the level of the sea, is situated in the lati- 
tude of 77° 31' South and in longitude 167° V E., and 
was named after our ship, 'Mount Erebus/ Adja- 
cent to it and only separated by a saddle of ice-clad 
land on its east, arose a sister mountain to the height 
of 10,900 feet, but now extinct, though having the same 
general outline, also doubtless belched forth at no very 
distant period its volumes of smoke and flame. It 
received the name of Mount Terror, after that of our 
consort. Its sides were partially covered with snow, 
presenting the appearance of having been melted in 
many of the depressions on its sides, and again frozen 
into pools, glittering like molten metal in the sun's 
rays, and extending down the sides of the mountain, 
in a broken serpentine stream to the great wall of ice, 
which extends from its base, forming a point or cape. 
This sea-wall, having a perpendicular face and tabular 
summit, averages 150 feet in altitude, with caverns 
hollowed out by the constant action of the waves, pro- 
ducing a remarkable effect of light and shade along its 
whole margin which extends in a southeasterly and 
northwesterly direction, and along which our course lay 
to the southward, between it and the pack." 



164 The Seventh Continent 

This magnificent spectacle of an active volcano sur- 
rounded by the glacial death of the Antarctic, but sur- 
passing in wonder Mounts Etna and Teneriffe, made 
a vivid impression upon the minds of officers and men. 

The vessels skirted the northern coast of Victoria, 
until they reached the huge masses of ice towering 
505 feet above their masts to which they gave the 
name of the Great Southern Barrier, but which has 
become popularly known as Ross's Barrier. They ran 
along this seeming endless and impenetrable wall for 
a distance of 160 miles. On February 9th, McCormick 
writes : 

''The wondrous scene nature has unfolded here, even 
beyond what might have been anticipated in this land 
of wonderment, has had the effect of riveting me to 
the deck for the last twenty-four hours, a volunteer 
and most willing sharer in the duties of every officer 
of the watches during that period. Being myself most 
anxious to trace this mighty wall of ice continuously 
without a break so as to see all I could of it, I never 
turned in at all, but kept the deck throughout the 
night never to be effaced from memory's tablet to the 
latest hour of existence; and well was I rewarded for 
the temporary sacrifice of a night's rest and sleep by 
the grand and sublime panorama which was unfolded 
to and arrested my gaze like some striking, shifting 
scene on the stage, as the 'noon-day' night of this 
high latitude moved on, and scene succeeded scene in 
nature's unrivalled display of her great Creator's 
works. 

"The night, so called, although in fact day here, was 
indeed most favourable, being remarkably fine, the azure 
blue of the sky above was mottled over with curdled 



I 



The English Expedit'wn Under Captain h'oss 165 

white, light cumuli, a mackerel sky in short. To 
windward the moon's pale, silvery disc every now and 
then emerged from beneath the clouds on the port beam, 
whilst the brighter rays from the glorious sun clearly 
indicating its position behind a bank of cirro-stratus 
on the starboard beam to leeward. We were sailing 
along a channel bounded on the starboard by the bar- 
rier, and on the port side by the heavy pack, passing 
through a quantity of young ice in streams varying 
in breadth, their outlines marked by a deeper shade of 
colour than the surrounding water. Each piece of ice 
assumed what we called the pancake ice, in fonn and 
size, having the margin slightly elevated and turned 
up, the pieces thickly packed together, some streams 
consisting of larger and more irregular shaped masses, 
oblong, oval, and of irregular, hexagonal figures, from 
a foot to three or four feet in diameter, lined as if 
from several smaller ones having become cemented to- 
gether. ' * 

On the 18th he writes: 

"This day we made the nearest approach to the 
Magnetic Pole, in the early part, running along the 
pack edge, through the young ice, and towards the close 
of the day in an open sea, clear of ice, and very fine 
weather, with moderate breezes. . . . When I left the 
deck at midnight ]\Iount Erebus presented a beautiful 
appearance astern, rearing its lofty peak above the sur- 
face of the waters in solitary grandeur; the surround- 
ing land having become submerged beneath the hori- 
zon by the great distance, being not less than 120 miles 
off, the peak so completely isolated as to present all 
the appearances of an island. The sky was so clear 
that the volume of smoke from its crater was most 



166 The Seventh Continent 

distinctly visible, curling upwards in the blue ether." 

It was fortunate for the Ross expedition that strong, 
favorable winds insured the safe return of the vessels 
from amongst the formidable ice masses through which 
they were obliged to navigate before reaching open 
water on their jl^eturn to Tasmania. Hobart Town 
where we find this entry in McCormick^s log May 1st: 

' ' At six p. M. dined at Government House with Sir 
John Franklin." 

It was at Hobart Town that the first news of Ross's 
great success was sent home to expectant friends in 
England, and it was here that the staunch ''Erebus" 
and ''Terror" were the scene of gaiety and revelry. 

These ships hold a peculiar and romantic claim in 
Polar history, and the problem of their ultimate de- 
struction and the fate of the brave officers and crew who 
sailed to the great north aboard tliem never to return 
is one of the melancholy tragedies of the Polar world. 
There at Hobart Town, however, on the first of June, 
1841, the scene aboard was one of complete rejoicing, 
for that night was celebrated the victory of the safely 
returned ships and the preparations for the great ball 
were in full swing. There is real pleasure in sharing 
the gaiety of this occasion. 

"We have been favoured by a fine evening for our 
ball," writes McCormick. "The approach to the ships 
was through a canvas-covered way, forming an arcade, 
lined with flags intermingled with branches of the 
'wattle' in its full yellow bloom, and other plants, 
the whole supported on a bridge of boats, and of suf- 
ficient breadth for two persons to walk abreast along 
it. A lamp-post was placed on each side of the en- 
trance, so ornamented with native plants, as to re- 



The English Expedition Under Captain Boss 1G7 

semble the mouth of a grotto, between which and the 
road through the paddock Sir John Franklin had got 
constructed a branch road, to enable the carriages to 
pass down the hill to the very entrance of this tunnel- 
like approach to the ball-room, which was formed by 
the upper deck of the 'Erebus,' the innermost ship, 
whilst the 'Terror,' outside of us, secured head and 
stern, with a bridge connecting the gangway, was al- 
lotted for the supper table. 

*'Our ball room was covered in by a canvas awning 
lined throughout with flags, and decorated with the 
various native plants, branches of the beautiful orange- 
yellow wattle, ferns, etc. The band of the 51st Regi- 
ment occupied an orchestra, covered with dark cloth 
rising to some feet above the deck and ornamented 
with shrubs and flowers, in front of which was sus- 
pended a portrait of our Queen, encircled in a gar- 
land of flowers. Just abaft the main-mast rose a sec- 
ond orchestra, for the Hobart Town quadrille band in 
the midst of a labyrinth of foliage. 

"Captain Ross's cabin and gun-room of the 'Ere- 
bus' was assigned as dressing rooms for the ladies, and 
were supplied with mirrors and most of the etceteras 
of a lady's toilet, down to hair pins, eau-de-Cologne 
and other perfumes. The descent to the lower deck 
was by the main hatchway, the steps covered with 
flowers of the wattle, and rosettes made of bunting by 
the sailors. The ring-bolts had been removed from the 
decks, and everything that could possibly leave more 
space. 

''The governor, Sir John Franklin, and his suite 
arrived soon after eight p. m., and by nine o'clock the 
deck presented a veiy gay and animated scene; up- 



168 The Seventh Continent 

wards of 300 guests must have been present during the 
evening. Supper was served at eleven. As usual on 
such occasions many toasts were drunk, and speeches 
perpetrated, accompanied by loud cheering and empty- 
ing of wine glasses. 

"The 'Erebus' and 'Terror' Ball will doubtless long 
be remembered by the Tasmanians as a memorable 
event in the history of their very beautiful island and 
most assuredly the boundless hospitality which every 
member of the expedition received at their hands will 
be as long remembered on their part as a no less in- 
teresting epoch in their own wandering lives." 

Not only was this a memorable occasion when the 
old ice- and weather-beaten decks responded to the 
* ' elastic step of so much female loveliness and beauty, ' ' 
but present at this great occasion of cheer and rejoic- 
ing were at least three of the most renowned men in 
the annals of Polar history. Captains Eoss and Crosier 
and Sir John Franklin, men who had already won their 
laurels from their singular temperaments of daring and 
courage, but in the case of the last two, the tragedy 
of their ultimate fate precipitated such a rush to the 
Arctic shores as had never been known in the history 
of the world, and for more than fifty years men searched 
the northern shores, tracing inch by inch unknown and 
barren coasts for evidence of these brave men and their 
no less heroic comrades. 

After the festivities just recorded the vessels were 
refitted and repaired, the instruments regulated and 
all preparations completed in anticipation of the second 
trip. Captain Ross's program included a stop for the 
purpose of taking magnetic observations at Sydney and 
Island's Bay, New Zealand, and Chatham, after which 



The English Expedition Under Captain Boss 169 

tlie ships made again for the ice. Early on the morn- 
ing of December 18th, the vessels once more entered 
the pack. Unfortunately they had come too early, for 
the ice was 300 miles further north than the year pre- 
vious, but Captain Ross determined to try and break 
through the barrier. The ice was generally loose and 
the ships cautiously worked through lanes of water all 
day. The first white petrel appeared, one giant petrel 
flying for hours about the ship. Several whales were 
seen spouting in the distance, a finner passed close to 
the ship and another dived down under her bottom 
from the bows. Sailing amongst the heavy pack a 
number of seals were passed. Christmas Eve found 
the ''Erebus" in latitude 65° 58', longitude 155° 54', 
with the thermometer 31°, in the midshipmen's berth, 
where Captain Ross and all the gun room officers as- 
sembled, and were regaled with punch, cake and snap- 
dragons. 

On January 1st, 1842, they again crossed the Ant- 
arctic Circle 1,400 miles to the eastward of the longi- 
tude attained the preceding year. The ships made 
little advance from this time as they were constantly 
beset in the pack, sometimes boring through, and at 
times beating about in pools of water. The officers 
and men were able to exchange frequent visits between 
the two ships. Flocks of tern and white petrel hovered 
about and hardly a day passed without the excitement 
of catching a seal. 

On the 19th, the ships which had been made fast 
with hawsers to a heavy table-topped piece of ice, 
thumped heavily throughout the night against the mar- 
gin of the piece of ice, until every timber of their frame- 
work shook and quivered. A heavy swell put such 



170 The Seventh Continent 

a strain on the hawsers that one fastening of the 
"Erehus" was parted and hy 2.30 a.m. that ship was 
adrift in the face of a heavy gale. Fog-signals and 
the firing of guns and muskets were constantly re- 
sorted to hetween the two ships that they might keep 
company in the dense fog that concealed everything. 

** Thursday, January 20th," writes McCormick, ''was 
a day not soon to be forgotten, while memory has the 
power of recalling vivid impressions of the past. We 
were destined to witness one of the most extraordinary 
scenes perhaps that ever occurred in the annals of nav- 
igation. We encountered a heavy gale of wind, little 
short of a West India hurricane in its force, whilst 
beset in this vast and close pack of ice. It was a heav- 
ing sea, with a long swell, unprecedented in the Arctic 
seas. Each mountain- wave was crested, not by spray 
and foam, but bore on its summit huge masses of solid 
ice, hard as adamant, intermingled with brash and 
debris, resulting from the tremendous collision of ice 
with ice, in the combined tumult of waters, both fluid 
and solid, and notwithstanding the enormous pressure 
of the ice borne on. this surface, some of these waves 
ran so high as frequently to render the 'Terror's' main- 
topsail yard barely visible above them, when she fell 
into the trough between two of them, scarcely half a 
mile ahead of us. Both ships had been rolling heavily 
all through the preceding night, coming so violently 
in collision with the ice as to shake their whole frame- 
work in such a way as to render it doubtful whether 
their timbers, strongly put together as they were, could 
much longer resist the fearful strain on them. The 
swell appeared to come from W.N.W., and the ship's 
drift S. by E. The 'Terror' was under her main top- 



The English Expedition Under Captain Ross 171 

sail on the cap. We were limited to the main try- 
sail, and fore staysail, baekin^^ and filling as requisite 
to clear the heavier pieces of ice, or by lowering the 
fore staysail and squaring the main-yard, to drop astern 
of them. Then again forging ahead by dropping the 
foresail, etc., the main topsail hanging loose upon the 
cap. We passed perilously close to some enormous hard 
masses, having white, table-topped summits ten to 
twelve feet above the surface of the sea, having a hori- 
zontal line, in their perpendicular sides, reflecting a 
beautiful cobalt-blue colour, and vertically streaked 
with an appendage of white pendant icicles, apparently 
resting on older ice as a basis, having a pale yellowish- 
brown colour at the water's edge, divided by short pil- 
lars. Beneath the surface of the water, large tongues 
of ice, having a convex upper surface, and smooth, blue 
appearance, hard as the granite rock itself, stretched 
out far beyond, on which the roaring surf broke. Were 
a ship's bottom — her weakest part — to strike on this, 
no human power could possibly preserve her from in- 
stant destruction in a sea like this, with such a hurri- 
cane raging around. We, indeed, passed in very close 
proximity to one mass, of a rounded, hard, washed, 
blue appearance, pitching, as it were, bows under, like 
a ship going down, in the turmoil of waters raging 
round. 

''Fortunately for us, there were none of the large 
bergs in our line of drift, and only two far to lee- 
ward. Two poor seals were quietly sleeping on a piece 
of ice ahead, apparently, if not unconscious, indifferent 
to the turbulent scene of the elements around them. 
A solitary black and brown, and a white petrel or two, 
were now and then seen hovering overhead in the height 



172 The Seventh Continent 

of the gale. The sky itself presented one uniform, 
lurid, leaden colour; the wind was from the N.N.W., 
and the barometer falling all day; snow in large flakes 
fell at intervals, and in the afternoon the weather be- 
came thicker with fog. At 12.30 we drifted into a lane 
of open water. During the last dog-watch the wind 
shifted round to the westward, and the gale and swell 
both became much abated. 

''We had our rudder injured, and on exchanging sig- 
nals with the 'Terror,' learnt that hers was in much 
worse condition than our own; made the signal to ren- 
dezvous at the Falkland Islands, in the event of part- 
ing company. The 'Terror,' as she rose on a sea, 
showed her copper sheathing, very bright and polished 
from the scrubbing it had sustained in her late collision 
with the ice. 

' ' At seven p. m. we passed a very beautiful young 
seal of the dark kind, reposing on a piece of ice not 
ten yards from the port side of the ship. He was four 
or five feet in length, blackish brown above, hair short 
and thick, crisp-looking underneath, grey, mottled with 
black, both on flanks and flippers. The poor animal 
seemed much astonished at his close proximity to the 
ship, looking round him with a bewildered expression, 
which was soon converted into fear and dread by the 
laughing and noise on deck, and he at once set about 
crawling off the ice, propelling himself along on his 
chest, without making any use of his flippers, progress- 
ing by curving in of his spine, thus shortening in his 
body as a caterpillar \yould do, the hinder or tail flipper 
being vertically closed, and passively stretched out on 
the ice. On rolling off the ice into the sludge, he then 
made use of his fore flippers in endeavoring to get 



The English Expedition Under Captain Ross 173 

upon another piece of ice, but being unsuccessful, he 
rolled over on his back and disappeared." 

On Thursday the 27th, McCormick makes entry: 
''The weather for the last week since the jj^ale has been 
gloomy, overcast, and threatening, much heavy ice 
about, with lanes of open water, and snow at intervals. 
We have had the carpenters of both ships at work, in 
making an entire new rudder for the 'Terror,' and 
repairing our own and other damages from the gale in 
the pack." 

The critical detention of the ships in the ice pack 
continued for forty-six days ; on the 22nd Captain Ross 
reached the great barrier of stationary ice. For some 
hours a very bright ice-blink along the horizon from 
east to south had apprised them that their old friend 
was not far distant. 

"It presented a more undulating summit outline than 
last year, having intervals forming bights between. One 
remarkable abutment, or promontory, at the entrance 
to a bay or inlet, bore a striking resemblance to the one 
where we made the nearest approach to it last season." 

Ross found the barrier beyond "Erebus" considerably 
lower than it had been the previous year. At one 
spot where it had been adjudged to be no less than 
200 feet in height on the second visit it was hardly 
170 feet high and was no less than 150 miles further 
east than on the previous expedition. 

This second visit to the Great Barrier extended over 
136 days of most exciting experience, but beyond gain- 
ing a few geographical facts, it had not reaped a very 
satisfactory result. Extricating themselves from the ice 
with all the attending difficulties, the vessels were di- 
rected to Cape Horn and skirted the coast as far as 



174 The Seventh Continent 

Rio de Janeiro, where they put in much needed stores. 
After refitting they made for the Falkland Islands, and 
prepared to enter the ice for the third time December 
17, 1842. 

On this occasion the first ice encountered was near 
Clarence Island and on Christmas Day in 62° 30' South 
latitude and 52° West longitude. Captain Ross found 
further progress greatly impeded. Nevertheless he 
laboriously worked south and along the eastern coast 
of West Antarctica, where he charted a large bay as 
''Erebus and Terror Gulf." Two high mountains he 
gave the names of Mounts Huddington and Parry and 
a small island east of Mount Huddington he called 
Cockburn Island. 

The month of January, 1843, wix-i spent in cruising 
about in the pack east of West Antarctica. McCormick 
writes on February 4th: 

''Weather overcast, with snow. About noon a heavy 
squall from the northeast indicated that we were in 
the vicinity of open water. Made sail and bored the 
ship through the streams of ice, getting clear of the 
pack in the afternoon after some heavy thumping from 
the ice. Between five and six p. m. we were once more 
in the open sea, with a heavy swell setting from the 
northeast, after a detention of thirty-eight days, beset 
between the pack, the chain of bergs and the land, en- 
countering baffling winds sometimes in our teeth." 

Ross endeavored to follow Weddell's course, but by 
March 5th he was again stopped by the ice pack, hav- 
ing reached 71° 30' South latitude, 14° 51' West longi- 
tude. He now directed his course north after one of 
the most successful voyages under the Southern Cross 
ever recorded in history. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE VOYAGE OF THE CHALLENGER 

THE three goverimient expeditions just described, 
that of France, the United States and England, 
had established a new epoch in Antarctic his- 
tory. The scientific world was now convinced that a 
new and hitherto unknown continent existed within the 
Antarctic Circle. 

The Great Southern Ice Barrier which had been con- 
sidered impregnable by Wilkes and Dumont d'Urville 
had been successfully penetrated by Captain Ross. His 
dangerous navigation of the Polar Pack is all the more 
remarkable when one considers the old type sailing 
ships, in which the voyage was successfully accom- 
plished. 

With the introduction of modern steamships, navi- 
gation in the ice pack has been proved a matter of no 
great difficulty but with the equipment at his command 
Ross accomplished a very wonderful feat. The prin- 
cipal object of his voyage had been magnetic survey 
and thoaigh recent explorers of the Antarctic have 
grreatly added to this branch of scientific knowledge, 
an immense work yet remains to be done. 

Since these early journeys of d'Urville, Wilkes and 
Ross, it is known that great changes in the magnetic 
elements have taken place south of the 40th parallel. 
Without fresh observations," says Sir Clements 
175 



( ( 



176 The Seventh Continent 

Markham, * 'there are no means of ascertaining their 
extent. Hence, increasing difficulties are experienced 
in constructing variation charts to meet the require- 
ments of iron-huilt ships. The secular change of mag- 
netic declination in the southern ocean is large," he 
continues, ''but the amount is unknown; and it is only 
by organized observation that it can be ascertained. So 
that the interests, not only of science, but of the prac- 
tical navigation of iron and steel ships, point to the 
increasing necessity of expeditions to Antarctic waters 
to obtain the required data. The urgent need of a 
magnetic survey is a sufficient reason for despatching 
an expedition to the Antarctic seas; but it is very far 
from being the only one. We have very little knowl- 
edge concerning the tides and surface currents of the 
Antarctic Ocean, and its meteorology. Its depths have 
yet to be sounded; and the dredgings will yield most 
valuable stores of new information to the naturalist." 
But the determination of the nature and extent of 
the Antarctic continent offers the greatest attractions 
to the geographer. Cook concluded, from the number 
and size of the ice-islands floating north, that this con- 
tinent was of vast extent. Ross discovered the source 
of these bergs in the ice-cap which terminates in the 
barrier — three hundred miles in length — along which 
he sailed. It is pushed out over the low lands into the 
sea, forming a solid wall probably fifteen hundred feet 
in thickness, of which two hundred feet are above 
water. When the glacier has advanced into depths of 
three or four hundred fathoms immense masses are 
broken off and flow northward as the great table-topped 
Antarctic icebergs, sometimes miles in length. A very 
extensive land mass is necessary to bear such glaciers 



The Voyage of the Chailenger 111 

on its surface. Ross discovered five hundred miles of 
its coast line running north and south, with lofty moun- 
tains in the interior. All the country seen by him was 
of volcanic foi*mation. The headlands and indications 
of land on the Antarctic Circle, collectively known as 
Wilkes Land, may be a northern face of this great 
"Terra Australis." 

For a long period of years following the Ross expe- 
dition, knowledge of the Antarctic regions remained 
very limited. Navigators had recorded the nature of 
the ice and the drift of the pack which varied con- 
siderably during different seasons. But beyond spo- 
radic efforts of whalers and sealers to advance into high 
altitudes, South Polar exploration was practically sus- 
pended for half a century. 

This apathy was due to a number of causes, perhaps 
the most potent was the physical obstacles to naviga- 
tion. The gigantic wall of ice of Ross's Barrier over 
which sweep "violent winds of cyclonic strength, the 
enormous icebergs which threaten immediate destruc- 
tion to voyagers in the pack and the angry wastes of 
waters, which separates a ship by hundreds of miles 
from the nearest port of shelter, cause this quarter 
of the globe to be greatly feared by navigators." 

A few minor discoveries succeeded the great voyage 
of Ross. The Dougherty Island was discovered in 1841, 
in about 59° 25' South latitude and 120° 20' "West 
longitude, by one Captain Dougherty, but there is the 
question if this is the same island reported by Cap- 
tains Swain and Macy at an earlier date. 

The following year a famous American sailing mas- 
ter, Captain William H. Smiley, penetrated to West 
Antarctica ^nd at Pendulum Cove, Deception Island, 



178 The Seventh Continent 

recovered a self-registering thermometer left there by 
Captain Foster in 1829. 

Smiley records that the whole side of Deception 
Island appeared to be on fire, and that he counted no 
less than thirteen volcanoes in action. He also makes 
mention of Palmer's Land as consisting of a number 
of islands — between which he entered and found the 
passages ''deep, narrow and dangerous." 

Lieutenant T. L. Moore, R. N., in Her Majesty's 
''hired bark the 'Pagoda','' made a voyage in the year 
1845. Sailing from Simon's Bay on January 9th, he 
encountered the ice sixteen days later in 53° 3' South 
latitude, 7° 30' East longitude. He endeavored to sight 
Bouvet Island, and sailed across where it was laid down 
on the charts, but failed to see it. He records seeing 
an extraordinary mass of ice-capped rock which he 
estimated to be about sixteen hundred tons in weight, 
which seems stationary, though he was uncertain if it 
were only an isolated rock in the midst of the ocean 
or an immense rock imbedded on an immense iceberg. 

Lieutenant Moore's highest latitude was attained 
February 11th in 67° 50' South, 39° 41' East longitude, 
supposed to be about 70 miles from Enderby Land, 
with the pack extending as far as he could see, but 
he could discern no land. Moore now continued in an 
easterly direction until on March 20th, when the heavy 
ice, snow and fogs drove them northward. 

In the year 1853, Captain J. J. Heard, an American, 
discovered the Heard Island group. "I made the west 
end of the island," he says, ^'74° 15' E. long., east end 
74° 40', latitude 53° 10'. Near the centre of the island 
a high peak, 5,000 feet high. Large number of birds." 

The captains of four other English vessels subse- 



The V ay age of the Challenger 179 

queiitly discovered islands in this vicinity, namely, Cap- 
tain McDonald, of the **Samarang," January 3, 1854; 
Captain Ilutton, December 1, 1S54; Captain Roes of 
the "Lincluden Castle," December 4, 1854, and Captain 
Attwaye, in the '* Herald of the Morning," December 
3rd and 4th, 1854. Beginning: with the following year 
these islands known as the Heard and McDonald Islands 
were a rendezvous for small fleets of ships, which 
cruised about in search of sea leopards and sea ele- 
phants, which resorted to the islands in great numbers. 
English and American sealers who have played such 
a conspicuous part in penetrating the mysteries of the 
South Seas found rivals in the other seafaring nations 
and the introduction of steam ships lessened the dis- 
tance and encouraged the mercantile ambitions. 

The German steamship ''Groenland," in command of 
Captain Dallmann, while on a seal-hunting expedition 
from November, 1873, to March, 1874, came up with 
land in 64° 45' South latitude, where Dallmann landed. 
This proved to be one of the western islands of West 
Antarctica. Two days later (January 10, 1874) he en- 
tered a deep bay; again he landed on what is supposed 
to be an island in about 64° 55' South latitude. The 
bay which he entered terminated in a strait — Bismarck 
Strait — and the land which he sighted he describes as 
high and mountainous, tlie coast a massive wall of high 
upright ice, from which immense bergs now and again 
broke off. 

Dallmann did not venture much farther south but 
sailing north made the Shetland Islands and the Powell 
group. He makes comment of the unreliability of all 
maps and charts relative to this locality. 

We now come to the most profitable scientific expe- 



180 The Seventh Continent 

dition under the Southern Cross since the journey of 
Captain Ross. This important expedition was sent out 
by England for the purpose of deep-sea soundings and 
dredgings. The "Challenger/' under Captain George 
S. Nares, R. N., while engaged on her scientific and 
interesting voyage round the world crossed the Ant- 
arctic Circle, and though it was no part of her program 
to penetrate into the unknown area, more especially 
as she was not a vessel constructed to navigate ice- 
bound seas, she nevertheless materially added to the 
knowledge of high southern latitudes. 

The ** Challenger '^ was a spar-decked corvette of 
2,000 tons displacement and 400 horse-power; this ves- 
sel W£is fitted out for a three or four years' cruise, 
during which time soundings, dredging, thermometric 
observations and chemical examination of sea-water 
were carried on continuously, with a view to a more 
perfect knowledge of the physical and biological con- 
ditions of the great ocean basins, of the direction and 
velocity of the great drifts and currents, of the faunae 
of the deep water, and of the zoology and botany of 
those portions of the globe which were comparatively 
unknown. 

With the exception of two 64-pounders, all the guns 
on the main deck were removed, so as to obtain all 
possible accommodations. In addition to cabins for the 
Captain, Commander, and Director of the Scientific 
Staff, there were spacious compartments for surveying 
operations and analyzing purposes, a laboratory for the 
chemist and a studio for the photographer. In fact 
this was the most thoroughly equipped expedition ever 
sent out from England up to that time. 

The Hydrographic Department at the Admiralty had 



The Vmjage of the Challenger 181 

issued a code of instructions regulating the daily rou- 
tine to be carried out whenever the weather and other 
circumstances permitted. These instructions directed 
the ** Challenger," after visiting Lisbon, Gibraltar, and 
Madeira, to proceed across the Atlantic through the 
trade-wind region, to the Virgin Islands; thence to 
Bermuda, onward to the coast of North America, and 
eastward again to the Azores, and thence to the Cana- 
ries, Cape de Verde and to the equatorial regions, west- 
ward to St. Paul's Rocks, Fernando de Noronha, and 
to the coast of Brazil. After leaving Bahia, it was 
desirable that the island of Trinidad and Tristan 
d'Acunha should be visited on the passage across the 
South Atlantic to the Cape of Good Hope, which it was 
expected would be reached at the close of 1873. 

Prom the Cape it was proposed to examine the small 
groups of islands of IMarion and Crozet, and to visit 
Kerguelen Land, from which the expedition was di- 
rected to proceed as far south as safety would permit 
in the neighborhood of the Antarctic ice barrier, and 
after a short survey to sail for Melbourne, Sydney, and 
the ports of New Zealand. 

''On the 31st of December (1873)," writes William 
J. J. Spry, R. N., a member of the expedition, ''after 
a succession of strong north-westerly winds, the first of 
the Crozet group of islands was seen ; but the weather 
prevented any hope which might have been indulged 
in of effecting a landing; however, the islands, six in 
number, were all seen, and their correct position ascer- 
tained. It is over a hundred years ago that they were 
discovered and reported. Possessing no interest in a 
geographical point of view, and having no resources, 
they are therefore more to be avoided than approached. 



182 The Seventh Continent 

Very little is known about them, for Sir J. C. Eoss's 
expedition was unable to land in 1843, and now the 
'Challenger's' was equally unfortunate. Later in the 
day the lofty mountain of East Island was seen through 
the haze, and on it clearing we had a good view of this 
perfect mountain mass of volcanic land, with its bold 
and precipitous shores and projecting rocks, which seem 
to have been formed by the unceasing action of the 
waves, cutting away softer parts. We stood up between 
the channel separating East and Possession Islands, 
the largest of the group, but saw no indication of tree 
or shrub. It was intended to make a short stay in 
America Bay, but the strong northeast wind prevented 
our reachiiig it before dark, and encountering a heavy 
cross sea, it was not considered safe to venture nearer. 
A dense fog now setting in, and a heavy gale of wind 
springing up, it was evident we were to be disappointed ; 
so we stood off to sea, and the opportunity of again 
closing the land was not afforded. 

** Favoured by a strong northwesterly breeze, we ad- 
vanced rapidly under sail towards Kerguelen Land; 
on our way passing several patches of floating sea- 
weed. We were daily accompanied by many of the 
great albatrosses and the large dark petrels and still 
more numerously by several varieties of speckled Cape 
pigeons. These birds added a degree of cheerfulness 
to our solitary wanderings, contrasting strongly with 
the dreary and unvarying stillness we experienced while 
passing through the equatorial regions, where not a 
single sea-bird is to be seen, except in the immediate 
vicinity of the few scattered islets and rocks. The 
strong breeze continued, and with a heavy northwesterly 
swell assisting, on the 6th January land was reported; 



The Voyage of the Challenger 183 

at first a small islet, known a;^ Blight's Cap, and after- 
wards the black, rough-looking coast of Kerguelen Land 
(or the Island of Desolation) ; thick weather prevented 
approach to the land until the next day, when it cleared 
sufficiently to run into port, when the anchor was let 
go in 18 fathoms, in Christmas Harbour. 

''In this harbour Captain Cook, when in command 
of the expedition sent out to explore the South Seas, 
anchored his two vessels, the 'Resolution' and 'Discov- 
ery,' on Christmas Day, 1777, and although not the 
actual discoverer of the island, his was tlie first vessel to 
anchor in any of its numerous harbours." 

Thirty years before Ross had anchored his vessels, 
the "Erebus" and "Terror," in Christmas harbor and 
he described it as being nearly a mile wide at its en- 
trance, between Cape Francois on the north, and Arch 
Point on the south, on which side is a small bay, that 
increases the breadth for nearly half the depth of the 
inlet, when it suddenly contracts to less than one-third 
of a mile, and thence gradually diminishes to the head 
of the bay, which terminates in a level beach of dark 
sand, extending across for a distance of 1,200 feet. 

"Here we pitched our magnetic tent for observa- 
tion," continues the narrator. "The shores on each 
side are steep, and rise in a succession of terraces to 
the height of more than 1,000 feet; the highest hill 
being on the north side, which attains an elevation of 
1,350 feet, and from its form received the name of 
Table Mountain. . . . The w^eather being favorable, it 
was determined to make a running survey of the ^vest 
coast." 

On the 8th of January the "Challenger" steamed 
out of Christmas Harbour, on a course S.S.E. along 



184 The Seventh Continent 

the coast, surveying and sounding. On the 28th she 
anchored in Rhodes Harbour, in the company of two 
sealing schooners, the ''Betsey Jane" and the ''Rossel 
King," which had been fortunate in capturing twenty- 
two fur-seals ''which they were willing to sell at 40 s. 
each in the rough state." 

"The manner in which the seal-fishery is carried on 
in the surrounding seas," continues Mr. Spry, "is both 
extravagant and destructive, for at the time of the dis- 
covery of this island it swarmed with sea-elephants, 
whales, and fur-seals. On this becoming known, it 
soon became a favorite cruising ground for those en- 
gaged in the 'trade.' This led, in an incredibly short 
space of time, to the reduction of all these species to 
a mere remnant; and in a few years their utter ex- 
tinction is sure to follow, for it can hardly be expected 
to be otherwise. The men, engaged in such arduous 
avocations as they are in these wild and inhospitable 
regions, must be expected to make all they can, and 
they care for none who come after them, but kill old 
and young as they fall across them in their cruises. 
The same might be said of the whales and sea- 
elephants. ' ' 

' ' The end of January found us in Christmas Harbour 
(the northern extremity of the island), the tranquil 
waters of which were quite a relief after the knocking 
about we experienced during the past month ; but every- 
thing was now ready for sea, and later in the day 
anchor was weighed, and under sail we beat out, with 
a fine fresh breeze, passing close along Terror Reef, 
over which the sea was breaking with sufficient force 
to indicate its danger, and affording a capital sight 
of the celebrated 'Arch Rock,' an oblong block, 150 



The Voyage of the Challenger 185 

feet high, of bedded volcanic formation, like a piece of 
ordinary masonry, with a curiously shaped arch, about 
100 feet wide, worn through the middle of it. On get- 
ting clear, a southerly course was shaped along the 
land/' 

February 1st he makes entry: 

"With a capital breeze we proceeded on our course, 
rapidly passing the land and some of our familiar 
landmarks of the preceding three weeks, — Mount Ross, 
Mount Campbell, Wyville Thomson, and Crozier ranges, 
all snow-topped and glistening in the morning sun. At 
noon we were off Cape George, and an hour later we 
had reached the most southern extremity of this isle 
of desolation, which was named Cape Challenger. A 
fair wind had sprung up, and away we went farther 
south to the Heard Islands. On our passage, sounded 
and dredged frequently; bottom from 200 to 400 fath- 
oms. We crossed the track of the Australian clippers, 
running by the great circle route, and it was in one 
of these vessels that Captain Heard in 1853 first saw 
the islands we are bound to. For three days very light 
winds, with fog and rain, were experienced. This 
added to the risk of meeting icebergs, during the misty 
and dark nights, made it anything but cheerful, for it 
is very questionable if these islands are correctly laid 
down on the charts." 

February 5th: "The fog continued, and for two or 
three days previous the cry of the penguins, and several 
patches of sea-weed, gave indications we were not far 
from land. The next morning during a lift in the fog 
it was seen right ahead, which we closed under sail, 
and found to be a cluster of black, inhospitable, precipi- 
tous cliffs; Meyer's Rock and Macdonald Islets having 



186 The Seventh Continent 

quite a singular appearance. A thick fog again con- 
cealed tliem from us, but having bearings we proceeded 
until they appeared through the haze at less than five 
miles distant, and we were enabled to run along their 
eastern side, which presented truly a rough and rugged 
scene. These islands, some 400 or 500 feet high, were 
perfectly inaccessible, not presenting a point along their 
rugged shores where it was possible to land. "We passed 
on, and another 20 miles disclosed a very remarkable 
headland, which we found out afterwards was known 
as Roger's Plead. As the roadstead was approached, 
the squalls came down with great violence, threatening 
to blow us to sea again ; but having steam at command, 
we were able to hold our way, and eventually reached 
the anchorage in Corinthian Bay (or Whisky Bay of 
the whalers, so named from the quantities of that spirit 
said to be consumed by them on the arrival of their 
store ship with supplies for the year). All the places 
previously visited, however inhospitable, really seemed 
paradise compared with this wretched mountain of ice 
rising from a base of black lava cinder. This largest 
island off which we are at anchor, is said to have its 
mountainous peak some 7,000 feet high; we had no 
means, however, of judging, for the top was never free 
from clouds and mist during our stay. Here we had 
our first glimpse of really Antarctic scenery, for pic- 
turesque glaciers descended to the sea on all its sides. 
Explorers landed and discovered a party of sealers lo- 
cated here, 'living' in a couple of dirty huts sunk in 
the ground for warmth and protection from the winds, 
which frequently blow with violence through a deep 
ravine. There are some forty or fifty men distributed 
about the island in small detachments, each party hav- 



The Voyage of the Challenger 187 

ing a defined beat where they watch for the sea-ele- 
phants coming on shore. What a miserable affair a 
sealer's life evidently must be, hard and monotonous, 
living in those desolate regions, completely isolated from 
the world. Here they remain for three years at a 
time, when, if they are lucky, they return home, with 
perhaps £50 or £60 in their pockets. This is probably 
spent in a couple of months, and they again return 
to their voluntary exile and live on penguins, young 
albatrosses, and sea birds' eggs for another period. 
The roads (?) in every direction were swampy and 
exceedingly unpleasant; wading through the snow and 
slush, the miserable huts were reached, looking lonely 
and desolate, the shore for some distance being strewn 
with bones and fragments, the remains of sea elephants, 
etc. Several excursions were planned during our short 
stay to visit the glaciers and the penguin rookeries, 
for these birds seemed to be in myriads, covering 
every ledge and precipice presenting a footing. 

*'A11 these prearranged plans were, however, frus- 
trated, for during the night the barometer fell, and 
the weather put on a very threatening appearance. The 
anxious circumstances now under which we were placed 
on this inhospitable coast caused a move to be made 
at a very early hour the following morning, at which 
time it was snowing very heavily as we proceeded to 
sea. Before well clear of the land (for we had en- 
deavored to make a rough running survey) the ex- 
pected gale burst upon us ; still it was a fair wind, and 
the ships ran on pleasantly towards the Antarctic ice 
until the middle of the night, when the sea and wind 
increased to such an extent that we had to heave-to. 
But it was not of long duration, and as daylight came 



188 The Seventh Continent 

the weather moderated, and under a bright sun and 
clear sky, with a favourable breeze, we sped on at a 
rate of 9 or 10 knots an hour to the southward, causing 
us to forget the few miserable days spent at and near 
the Heard Islands. During the next three days, we 
pushed on under sail, the weather continuing very 
squally, with rain and frequent snow storms, the tem- 
perature of the air being down to 33°." 

Feb. 11th: '^This morning at an early hour we en- 
countered the first Antarctic iceberg, bearing E.S.B. to 
our course. On passing within a few miles, it was from 
observation considered to be three-fourths of a mile 
long and 200 feet in height. We are now in latitude 
60° 52' South, longitude 80° 20' West, dredging and 
sounding frequently with good results. From this time 
the icebergs became very numerous, and great was the 
excitement on board as we passed these novel sights. 
The rich cobalt blue tints blending into the white of 
the ice produced a very fine effect. The weather was 
very fine, and each day now we continued to meet ice- 
bergs in all shapes and sizes, some apparently much 
worn by the sea into cavities and great fissures, as if 
they were ready to split asunder; others of tabular 
form, with heavy surf breaking up their perpendicular 
sides. Sailing on, we pass much loose ice, evidently 
fragments of broken up icebergs, and a beautiful white 
petrel, Procellaria glacins, was seen for the first time. 
From this we were led to believe we were in the vicinity 
of large masses of ice, for it is known that these birds 
never wander far from the main pack." 

About 1.30 p. M. on February 16th the ''Challenger" 
crossed the Antarctic Circle, latitude ^Q^ 30' South, 
longitude 78° East, and was then about 1,400 miles from 



The Voyage of the Challenger 189 

the South Pole. 

''The sight was indeed a grand one," writes the 
narrator, **as we threaded our way through the pack 
ice and up through avenues of vast bergs, over a 
course never before taken by explorers; all this left 
an impression of those icy, desolate regions that can 
never be forgotten. It seems most difficult to attempt 
a description, for all I could say would convey but 
little of the reality to the imagination of one who has 
not been similarly situated. 

** Proceeding on to latitude 66° 40' South, the course 
was altered, and the horizon scanned in all directions 
for land; the weather was unusually clear, so that we 
should certainly have seen it had any existed within a 
considerable distance; none however was visible. The 
Circle was again recrossed, and we proceeded east along 
the margin of the great pack. The icebergs had now 
become so numerous that it was not unusual to be able 
to count over one hundred and fifty from the deck, and 
many of them appeared to be miles in length. The next 
day was very squally, haze extending all round the 
horizon, and frequent snow storms occurred, we steer- 
ing east for Wilkes' Termination Land, which was sup- 
posed to be 440 miles distant." 

Feb. 19th. ''From the great quantities of ice found 
drifting along our course, it appears evident we are 
not far from extensive fields, and as many as eighty 
magnificent icebergs were in sight at one time; thus 
for days we sail on a straight course, bounded with 
ice islands from a quarter of a mile to five miles in 
length." 

On February 23rd the "Challenger" stood within 20 
miles of the position assigned by Wilkes as land but 



190 The Seventh Continent 

with a clear horizon none was visible. The following 
morning instead of being able to approach the pack, the 
ship encountered a fearful gale of wind, with heavy 
and constant fall of snow which completely hid the 
surrounding dangers; the vast numbers of surrounding 
bergs made the situation particularly perilous. 

"Steam was at command in four boilers; it was as 
much as the engines at full speed could do to keep sta- 
tion, and in a position considered safe from the ice. The 
barometer fell to 28.9, and the wind rose to a force of 
10; soon there was a heavy and turbulent sea. As 
the darkness of the night closed, the wind moderated; 
still it was a very critical time, and all felt glad when 
daylight arrived, as we were then enabled to shape a 
course for the pack under sail. From the direction the 
wind had been blowing, the ice at its edge was scat- 
tered and sufficiently open to allow us to push on to 
within 15 miles of the supposed Wilkes' Termination 
Land ; although, having a clear horizon, no indication of 
it could be seen; we sailed for two or three hours, 
picking our way among blocks of loose ice, varying in 
size from 5 or 6 feet to 60 feet across, and which no 
doubt are kept separate by the continual motion of the 
long swell. Their depth below the surface did not ap- 
pear to exceed 20 feet. The greater part was washed 
into all sorts of fantastic forms, and showed evidences 
of decay and the length of time they had been in the 
water. In addition to this, hundreds of icebergs could 
be seen from the mast head. Having now gone as far 
as practicable in an undefended ship, course was altered, 
and once more we reached clear water. The weather 
was getting very unsettled; it was therefore deemed 
useless to remain in proximity to so much ice, as a 



The Voyage of the Challenger 191 

strong southerly breeze had sprung up, and squally 
weather set in, of which advantage was taken; as it 
was considered that any further stay in these icy re- 
gions would not only be attended with peril to the 
vessel, but would cause a delay in time, which was 
required for other services, and having nearly 3,000 
miles to sail to our next port (Melbourne), course was 
altered to the northward, and throughout the remainder 
of the day good progress was made." 

Feb. 26th. * * Hove to this morning for dredging from 
a depth of 1,300 fathoms. The wind and sea, however, 
gave evidence we were in for another blow before 
leaving these regions, lest we should think too lightly 
of the dangers of ice navigation. The dredge was 
quickly hauled in before it had reached the bottom. 
We then steamed under the lee of a large iceberg, which 
somehow or other we ran into, carrying away our jib 
boom and head gear. Some little excitement now pre- 
vailed, for the weather had become so thick with the 
falling snow tha,t we could scarcely see 100 yards' dis- 
tance. Steam was ready, and the ship hove-to, drifting 
to leeward before the storm, with the certainty, as 
we were perfectly surrounded by icebergs, of sooner 
or later coming across the path of one of them. In 
the afternoon, during the worst part of the gale, one 
of these great ice islands was seen looming through 
the mist, close to, and directly to leeward of us. With 
the engines going at full speed, the ship just managed 
to clear it. After this we endeavored to use our enemy 
as a breakwater; but the violence of the gale caused a 
difficulty in bringing the vessel head to the wind, so 
there was no other course but to continue our drift. 
As the evening advanced, the weather cleared and 



192 The Seventh Continent 

during a momentary lull in the storm, while passing 
to leeward of another great iceberg, the ship was 
brought round on the other tack. The passage between 
the two icebergs proved to be clear of danger, and the 
night was spent in drifting backwards and forwards 
from one to the other, the steam enabling the ship to 
hold her own. It was altogether a fearful and perilous 
night.'' 

Feb. 27th. "Daylight was hailed with much thank- 
fulness; the gale still blowing its utmost. However, 
such fierce squalls are never of long duration in these 
latitudes. Most providentially the weather, as the day 
advanced, seemed to subside ; and as there had been no 
mishap, we had much to be thankful for in being pre- 
served from the dangers and perils of the past twenty- 
four hours. Later in the day sail was made, and we 
again proceeded on our course. Next noon we were in 
latitude 62° 2' South, longitude 97° 6' East, and about 
2,215 miles from Cape Otway, Victoria, Australia. Be- 
fore the strong favoring gale good progress was made, 
every one heartily glad to take leave of the desolate 
icy regions, after our late experience of what a gale 
really v/as in the Antarctic. 

*'0n the 4th March, in latitude 53° 17' South, longi- 
tude 109° 23' East, we passed our last iceberg, but the 
sea water remained sufficiently cold for them to float 
about in it for some time without melting until we 
attained the 50th parallel of latitude. Whenever the 
weather permitted, we sounded and trawled with good 
results. Upon investigating the proceeds, they were 
found to consist of nearly the same fauna as that discov- 
ered farther north. ' ' 

On Marcli 13th ^he ''Challenger" stood within 400 



The Voyage of the Challenger 193 

miles of Cape Otway; by the 16th "land was in sight, 
the first for forty days." Cape Otway, Australia's 
southwestern point, was ahead, and the bright light 
glimmering in the darkness of the night. 

"A short distance farther," concludes the writer, 
**and we are reminded that our voyage will soon be at 
an end. Next day crossed the bar, and passed Port 
Philip's headland; shortly after Hobson's Bay was 
reached, and we anchored in the harbour of one of the 
finest colonial cities England possesses." 

In Sir John Murray's official account of the failure 
to sight Wilkes' Termination Land, he says the ''Chal- 
lenger" approached to within fifteen miles of the sup- 
posed position of Wilkes' Termination Land, ''but 
neither from the deck nor mast head could any indication 
of it be seen. The limit of vision as logged was twelve 
miles, and had there been land sufficiently lofty for 
Wilkes to have seen it at a distance of sixty miles (which 
was the distance he supposed himself off it) either the 
clouds capping it or the land itself must have been seen. 
If Wilkes' distance was overestimated, that of the 'Chal- 
lenger' would be increased, and it may still be found, 
but as the expression in Wilkes' journal is 'appearance 
of land was seen to the southwest, and its trending 
seemed to be to the northward,' and not that land was 
actually sighted, and a bearing obtained, it is probable 
that Termination Land does not exist ; still it is curious 
that pack ice and a large number of bergs should have 
been found in nearly the same position as by Wilkes in 
1840, and this would seem to indicate that land can not 
be very far distant." 

The results of this voyage are ably . summarized by 
Greely : 



194 The Seventh Continent 

** Though the * Challenger' barely entered the Circle, 
yet her researches contributed in an unparalleled de- 
gree to our knowledge of the South Polar regions. Mur- 
ray, in his admirable 'Eesults of the Challenger Expe- 
dition,' shows that 90 species of animals unknown to 
the tropical oceans are common to the northern and 
southern seas. Meteorologically, Murray and A. Buchan 
have demonstrated that high barometric pressures cover 
the ice-clad lands around the South Pole, The dredge 
nets were filled with a wealth of marine fauna unequalled 
in any other part of the world. In addition they gath- 
ered glaciated rock fragments, — granites, quartzites, 
gneisses, sandstones of Antarctic lands, since these rocks 
are not found in oceanic islands. They prove conclu- 
sively the existence of a southern continent properly 
called Antarctica by Murray, which the discoveries of 
Palmer, Eoss, Wilkes, D'Urville, and others (especially 
Scott) show to be almost entirely buried under glacial 
formations, from which projects here and there a soli- 
tary nunatak, or a few miles of favored beach." 



CHAPTER X 

AN IMPORTANT DUNDEE WHALING EXPEDITION 

THE last half of the nineteenth century was re- 
plete with enterprises in North Polar research 
and the question has often been asked why so 
much money, time, and personal sacrifice has been ex- 
pended in the Arctic when its Antipodes should remain 
unexplored and practically unthought of. It has al- 
ready been pointed out that the prospect of discovering 
a short passage to India, China and Japan for the pur- 
pose of promoting commerce and trade, had interested 
European navigators for a period covering three centu- 
ries. The Arctic regions were but a few days' sail from 
American and European ports, while the remoteness of 
the Antarctic, the long and dangerous passages around 
the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn and the stretch 
of limitless water-s before a harbor of safe anchorage 
could be hoped for, deterred systematic operations under 
the Southern Cross. 

Another and potent reason had excited the desires of 
explorers toward unravelling the mysteries of the far 
North. "We have pictured Captain Ross, Sir John 
Franklin and Captain Crozier on an occasion of tri- 
umph and rejoicing on the gaily trimmed decks of the 
''Erebus'' and "Terror" at Hobart Town, New Zea- 
land ; with the passing of the years had come one of the 
greatest tragedies in the annals of British exploration, 

195 



196 The Seventh Continent 

the loss of these two ships in the great white North, 
and the continued search repeated year by year to 
solve the tragic fate of Sir John and Captain Crozier 
and their faithful crew. The whole world mourned their 
loss and brave men were stirred to heroic adventure in 
search of them, while the unsolved problems that lay 
in the frozen breast of Antarctica awaited in vain the 
conjurer's wand of the scientist and explorer. 

During 1874 and 1875 a party of Americans, one 
of English and another of German scientists spent a 
part of the summer on Kerguelen Island for the pur- 
pose of making observations on the transit of Venus. 

The German scientist, Dr. K. Schrader, commanded 
an expedition which sailed on S. M. S. ''Moltke," and 
spent the season of 1882 at Moltke Harbor, South Geor- 
gia, taking meteorological and magnetic observations, 
mapping the vicinity of the German station and taking 
some astronomiceil observations. They returned north 
in August, 1883, on S. M. S. ''Marie." 

"With these exceptions and the brief visit already re- 
corded made in 1874 by H. M. S. ''Challenger," the 
Antarctic regions had been almost entirely neglected. 

For a succeeding period of ten years, there is little 
to record, but in 1892-1893 four Dundee whalers stim- 
ulated scientific interest by making an interesting though 
commercial cruise to the Antarctic. The small fleet 
was composed of the "Active," the "Balaena," the 
"Diana" and the "Polar Star." The idea of this ex- 
pedition originated with the three Gray Brothers of 
Peterhead, who had been famous Arctic whalers, and 
decided to venture their fortunes in an Antarctic expe- 
dition as the whale fisheries of the northern waters had 
grown less and less profitable. 



An Important Dundee Whaling Expedition 197 

Mr. J. M. Gray, the eldest of the three, endeavored 
to organize a company with this object in view during 
the year 1871, but from lack of sufficient financial back- 
ing was obliged to abandon his project. The following 
year Mr. R. Kinnes of Dundee, followed Mr. Gray's 
example and equipped the four mentioned ships for this 
purpose. All were wooden barks built for ice work, 
the ''Balaena,'* the largest of the four, being 260 tons 
register. 

This expedition was purely a commercial enterprise, 
but the fact that it was to start for Antarctic waters 
created no little sensation in England. The Royal Geo- 
graphic Society and the Meteorological Society took a 
keen interest in the scientific prospects of the voyage, 
and presented the ships with instruments, and the ship 's 
doctors, who were men of scientific tastes, were sup- 
plied by private individuals with necessary material 
for their observations. 

Mr. Burn Murdock, the artist, who was a member of 
the expedition and sailed on board the ''Balaena, " gives 
a vivid and interesting account of the experiences of 
the whalers among the Antarctic ice. The local atmos- 
phere, and human interest, if one may be pardoned a 
hackneyed expression, are especially vivid in his inter- 
esting narrative, and his descriptions of color and at- 
mospheric effects of the South Polar regions are par- 
ticularly pleasing. Sailing in September from Scotland 
the tedium of the long journey is beginning to be felt 
by the writer about December 7th, when he makes entry 
in his jounal: 

**We ought to have seen land to-day, and I beg to 
apologize to the reader for the unavoidable delay. These 
southerly gales, and latterly these calms, have caused 



198 The Seventh Continent 

us much disappointment; but if the reader will just 
wait one moment till that curtain of mist rises, we will 
have a beautiful view of the land on our starboard bow 
from where we are just now. We are almost sure that it 
cannot be more than ten or fifteen miles off. To judge 
from the amount of sea-weed floating about, we might 
be within twenty yards of the beach; some patches are 
so thick, and so like the tangle on rocks, that it makes 
us feel uncomfortable to see the ship running dead on 
to them. ' ' 

Long ago people thought that there was land to the 
north and east of the Falklands. It was reported by 
one or two early navigators and was never seen again; 
now it is believed that what was taken for land was 
only floating sea- weed. La Roche was the first to ob- 
serve this supposed island. He discovered South Geor- 
gia in 1675, and it was after leaving that island, which 
lies about two degrees east of the Falklands, that he 
discovered this lost land. 

The Spanish author who gives the abstract from La 
Roche's voyage says that, ''after leaving South Georgia 
and sailing one whole day to the N.W., the wind be- 
came so violently at south that he stood N. for three 
days more, till they were got into 46° South, when, 
thinking themselves then secure, they relate that, direct- 
ing their course for the Bahia de Todos Santos, in Brazil, 
they found in 45° South a very large and pleasant island, 
with a good port towards the eastern part, in which 
they found wood, water and fish. They saw no people, 
notwithstanding they stayed there six days. 

''Captain Colnett, R. N., in H. M. S. 'Rattler,' 
searched for Isle Grand, as La Roche called it, in 1793 ; 
he expected to find it about lat. 45° South, and long. 



An Important Dundee Whaling Expedition 199 

34.21 west. 'This,' he says, 'I had often heard my old 
commander. Captain Cook, mention, as the position of 
the Isle of Grand.' But all Captain Colnett saw was 
a great quantity of feathers and birch twigs on the 
water, which was of a greenish hue. His men saw sand- 
larks and a large species of curlew. Was there an- 
other deluge there away in the eighteenth century, and 
we in the Northern Hemisphere in complete ignorance? 
. . . That mist is long in rising. It is glassy calm, and 
we lie waiting to see where we are before we go on. 
We know that land is close at hand, from our sound- 
ings, and feel chirpy in consequence. A pair of pen- 
guins have put in an appearance. All the other birds 
had gone except our faithful stormy petrels. 

' ' On the fore-deck the crew are ranging the cable, and 
the mate and his watch are getting the anchors off the 
fo 'csle-head, heaving them with hand spike and tackle 
till they hang at the cat heads ready to let go. Viewed 
from the poop, this makes a splendid picture. Imme- 
diately beneath me there is the wet deck and the glisten- 
ing bulwarks running up into perspective; and on the 
fo 'csle-head stands a group of dark figures, blurred in 
the mist, and framed in by the great folds of the clewed- 
up main-sail, that hang in grand sculpturesque folds. 
There is a feeling of sunlight in the mist, and up aloft 
a faint air flaps the damp sails at times, and brings 
down a shower of rain-drops from the wet shrouds and 
yards. ' ' 

After a brief stop at the Falkland Islands, the "Ba- 
laena" proceeded to the sailing grounds and on Decem- 
ber 16th Mr. Murdock records the approach to the ice 
by a course between the South Shetlands and South 
Orkneys. 



200 The Seventh Continent 

^*We had our first glimpse of the Polar world this 
afternoon," he writes. ''A thin mist rose from the sea 
and showed us a huge island of ice at some miles dis- 
tant, white and glittering in the faint sunlight. I 
should think it was about half a mile long and about 
two hundred feet high ; the top was as level as a billiard 
table and absolutely white. The precipitous sides were 
of a faint grey blue, with great sea worn green caves 
shaped like Gothic arches; in these we could see the 
swell rising and falling and bursting out in soft foam 
hundreds of feet in the air. 

' ' Between us and the berg the sea had the appearance 
of a slack-water, as if the tide was running towards us 
from either side of the berg. On this were countless 
myriads of Cape pigeons and blue petrels; each wave 
was specked with them, about a yard apart, all heading 
towards the distant berg and against the breeze. As we 
sailed past the birds, those closest to us rose and circled 
round us for a little, then joined the others on the 
water. To make a foreground to this Antarctic picture 
three enormous whales rolled their black backs through 
the grey sea with ponderous, irresistible force, throwing 
up blasts of fine spray, which hung in the air for a few 
seconds, and then vanished above their white wake. They 
were of a grey-black color, with a sheen of purple- 
brown — 'finners' we called them. Whenever they rose 
to blow a flight of blue petrel came and hovered over 
them." 

The following day he records a heavy fog and a fresh 
norVester, but he says: ''We found we had made a 
passage somehow or other between a number of large 
bergs. A few large ragged pieces of ice, like the roots 
of huge teeth, are rolling about in the swell, with the 




ANTARCTIC PETREL 



An Important Dundee Whaling Expedition 201 

grey sea surging over them and pouring down their 
sides in white streams. The men call these detached 
piece of ice ' growlers, ' from their unpleasant nature and 
the sound the sea makes breaking over them. To us 
they can do little harm; but many an iron ship has 
had her sides ripped by these wandering rocks. 

"A few penguins are swimming around us. Now and 
then they put their heads above the water and quangk — 
a sudden, melancholy, strange call, sounding sad and 
lonely in the mist. 

"This morning we saw a seal alongside, apparently 
sleeping. I bolted for my rifle and managed to put a 
bullet in its head. We drifted down on it; but we had 
nothing ready to hook into it; a boat hook would not 
hold, and a running bowline we got round it slipped 
over its after end, just as we had hauled it up to the 
rail. Fortunately it was shot before it had time to 
contract its muscles, so it floated. 

"It would have been an unlucky thing to lose the 
first blood of the cruise, so the starboard quarter boat 
was lowered and after some hunting the seal was 
picked up. 

"Then the seal was laid on deck, and we all exam- 
ined it with much interest, for it was very different 
from those of the north. It measured seven feet from 
its nose to the end of its hind flipper. Its colour was 
nearly black, with a tinge of brown and a silvery-grey 
sheen ; beneath it was of a yellow umber colour, spotted 
with the dark colour of its back; its head, with its 
large teeth and narrow, shark-like eyes, somewhat re- 
sembled that of a Danish hound. Its circumference was 
small for its length, and the blubber very thin, so we 
concluded it had either come through the breeding sea- 



202 The Seventh Continent 

son or travelled far. Just after killing the seal there 
was a shout amongst the men forward, ' A Uni ! A Uni ! ' 
— the whaler's term for a Narwhale. Several men said 
they saw their horns. 

''All day we steamed southwards through the black, 
smooth water, with the mists hanging round us brown 
and damp. At two o'clock it grew a little lighter, and 
the folds of the mist curtain were drawn up a little, 
as if by hands from above, and beneath the veil we 
saw the edge of the Antarctic ice close to us, white 
against a dark sky beyond. 

"I felt as if the weariness and fret of many years 
of voyaging would be repaid by the first glimpse of 
this strange white land, by the sensation of quietly 
stealing under the mist veil into this secret chamber of 
great Nature. The blocks of ice and snow that formed 
the floating shore were varied with many tints, pale 
violets, creamy whites, and silky greens ; and the shapes 
were as beautiful and unexpected by me as the delicacy 
and variety of the colours. It was as if a Doric temple 
in dreamland of Carrara marble had been thrown down, 
and lay floating calmly on the dark, still water. Yet 
with all the strangeness of the fantastic shapes, of capi- 
tols, columns, and shattered carvings, there was still a 
decision in the sculpture of the blocks and masses, and 
a certainty in the working out of each detail, in the 
form of the icicles hanging from goblin mushrooms, in the 
green fret-work supporting white tables, that made us 
marvel at the skill of the design, and wonder what it 
was in this stillness that owned and enjoyed such grand 
and delicate beauty. Whilst we skirted this floating 
snow-land, the crew watched it from the black bulwarks, 
and were awed into silence by its unfamiliar beauty. 



An Important Dundee Whaling Expedition 203 

The silence was broken by a whale rising between us 
and the ice; he was about seventy feet long, I should 
guess. He spouted a jet of steam into the mist and went 
down. Some one called, 'He's a Bowhead' and every one 
forgot all about the ice and thought of whale bone and 
blubber and great profits. All the men who were not 
already on deck crowded in the focsle-head at the shout, 
and waited to see the whale come up again — a silent 
group of intensely expectant figures, with the mist hang- 
ing grey on their clothes and beards. A second time 
he rose quite close to us, spouted, sighed heavily, rolled 
slowly over, and went down without showing enough of 
his back to let us know whether he was a finner or a 
right whale. Certainly his colour was not quite right — 
it was not black enough for a Bowhead ; still, the colour 
would not matter, we thought, if he had no fin on his 
back. The third time he rose higher, and just as he 
was going down a diminutive fin appeared, and a shout 
of laughter echoed in the misty stillness, and every 
one bundled off to his work jeering at the man who 

'couldn't tell a Bowhead from a bl y finner.' 

' ' Think of all the dreary melancholy, the blank hope- 
lessness described by writers about the Arctic, and you 
have but a faint idea of the sad inhuman feeling of 
solitude there is in this world of white cliffs and black 
sea. Take all the grace, softness, and mystery of form 
and colour together, that they have written of, and you 
can scarcely dream of the delicate beauty of the forms, 
of the infinite subtlety of the harmonies in white, and sil- 
ver, and green, and pale yellow, and blue that we have 
seen in the last few hours steaming along the pack edge 
— an endless fairy picture, painted on silk, with a 
ghostly brush from a palette of pearl. 



204 The Seventh Continent 

'^To give more than a suggestion of colouring is as 
impossible in colour as in words. The bloom on a 
child's cheek can be reproduced in paints, but these 
high-toned schemes of variously tinted white are infi- 
nitely more difficult. Their unfamiliarness is at once 
their difficulty and their charm. One feels in looking 
at them as if developing a new sense of sight, with 
each new effect of colour, so that the thought of at- 
tempting to reproduce the tints at the time is crowded 
out of mind. 

'* To-night Mick laid out five tumblers, five spoons, 
and the sugar bowl on the cabin table, with a consid- 
erable amount of solemnity, and the master brought out 
his rum, and we in the cabin were invited to celebrate 
the occasion of our reaching the ice with a modest 
glass of rum hot ! Taking the total distance N.S.E. and 
W. we have sailed about 9,000 miles, and come through 
much bad weather with no loss but a few sails and one 
spar. So the occasion quite well warranted the excuse 
for a glass.'' 

The following day, Sunday, December 18th, Mr. Mur- 
dock makes entry: ''When there is a lift in the mist 
we take advantage of it, and steer south by west, making 
a course along the ice edge for Erebus and Terror Gulf, 
in Louis Philippe Land, where Sir James Eoss saw the 
right whales in 1842, and where we expect to meet our 
consorts. We expected to see Clarence Island, the east 
most of the South Shetlands, but the fog was too thick; 
so the first land we can see now is Joinville Land, or 
the small islands that lie to the N.E. of it. 

"We passed a large berg this afternoon, probably a 
little more than a hundred feet high. I guessed it was 
eight miles long, and compass bearings we made made 



An Important Dundee Whaling Expedition 205 

it seven and three-quarters. To our Arctic sailors this 
was an extraordinary sight, as a berg a mile long in 
the north is considered huge. But the impression of 
size is not received from enlargement of an object in 
one direction, so this ice cliff, eight miles long by a 
hundred feet, was not particularly impressive. The most 
imposing effect I have yet seen was a mere chip off 
one of these bergs; it loomed out of a tank of mist, 
and grey surges climbed up its ice cliffs, and burst, and 
the spray vanished in the mist above." 

''Hurrah!" cries Murdock, December 25th, "We've 
made the land at last — the islands of the Antarctic 
Continent. At seven this morning the mist rose and we 
found ourselves almost exactly where our dead reckon- 
ing put us, but rather nearer the most northerly of 
the group of Danger Islands than we cared to be. Sir 
James Ross discovered them fifty years ago, and I sup- 
pose they have not been seen since. Beyond them to 
the west lay the N.E. end of Joinville Land, seen by 
Admiral D'Urville from the N.W. in 1838. What we 
saw of it was a sweep of snow that rose in a very grad- 
ual slope to between two or three thousand feet, then 
fading almost imperceptibly into the clouds. At times 
the sun shone through the wisps of cloud and chased 
shadows along the glacier slopes; I thought the faint 
lines I could trace on the snow might be crevasses. Not 
a sign of a rock or any kind of land showed through 
the glacier slopes. Sir James Ross saw some rocks like 
warty excrescences breaking abruptly from the snow on 
the top, and Captain Crozier and his officers in the 
'Terror' believed they saw smoke issuing from the top, 
but owing to the wreaths of cloud we could not see the 
rocks, neither did we see any smoke. Some of the islands 



206 The Seventh Continent 

we found had not been charted by Sir James Ross, 
probably he did not see them owing to their being sur- 
rounded by icebergs. The largest was called Darwin 
Island. It has blue-black precipitous sides, with a table- 
top covered with snow. Some of the islets were low and 
flat, without snow, others rose like broken pillars ab- 
ruptly from the sea, and these also had no snow on 
their flat tops. 

"This has been a tremendous day for business," con- 
tinues Mr. Murdock; ''both watches have been coiling 
the whale lines into their compartments in the whale- 
boats. This is a mighty careful process. They have to 
be laid down so that they can run out when the whale 
sounds, without a hitch. One line is coiled down in the 
stern-sheets in a triangular shape — the steersman stands 
on this, when it is not running out — another is coiled 
in a box amidships, and the third is coiled in the bow. 
There has been some demur about coiling the lines on 
a Friday; but so many instances are quoted of full 
ships as the results of lines being coiled on a Friday, 
that the work goes on merrily, and as each crew lays 
down the last fathom they give a cheer, and the men 
in the neighboring boats growl at each other for their 
slowness. Every one is in a state of great expectations ; 
to-morrow we ought to be amongst the 'great numbers 
of the largest-sized black whales' that Ross wrote about. 
One of our harpooners, the slayer of hundreds of levia- 
thans — perhaps the oldest and most energetic of our 
crew — has not coiled his lines down yet. He has kept 
out of sight in his bunk, whistling to his dicky-bird, 
waiting till twelve o'clock, the end of the nautical day, 
when there will be time enough, as he says. Nothing 
will induce him to equip his boat, and nothing will make 



An Important Dundee Whaling Expedition 207 

him confess that it is on account of its being Friday. 
The harpoon-guns too are being fixed in the bullet-heads 
on the boats' bows. They are rather like short-barrelled 
duck punt guns — muzzle loaders with a pistol stock sup- 
ported on a crutch and a swivel-pin that turns in the 
bullet-head; a few inches behind this bullet-head there 
is a second bullet or timber-head, round which the line 
is hitched as it runs out over the stern." 

The ''Balaena" after passing the Danger Islets came 
within sight of the southern extremity of Joinville 
Land. Captain Davidson of the "Active" found the 
Joinville Land was separated from Cape Fitsroy by a 
strait through which he navigated his ship and called 
the land Dundee Island, and the strait Firth of Fay. 

Within a few hours of the arrival of the "Balaena" 
in Erebus and Terror Gulf each of the other three con- 
sorts turned up. Much excitement was felt by mem- 
bers of the expedition at the near proximity of the 
whaling grounds described by I^oss. At the time the 
fleet had left Dundee whalebone Avas worth £2500 a ton 
and one good sized whale would yield a ton of bone. 
Steering a southeast course, the ships followed in line 
headed by the ''Balaena," which threaded its way 
through the loose pack between aisles of many bergs. 

''Sometimes," writes Murdock, ''we have to shove 
an ice island out of our course; our black bows crunch 
into its soft, snowy surface, and break into the green 
undercut caves, and the shock brings down showers of 
clinking icicles, and the piece is shoved aside. As we 
pass, black-backed penguins jump out of the water, and 
scurry about on the dazzling white snow. 

' ' The black penguins set off the white tints ; but there 
is red in the picture as well, to contrast with the blots 



208 The Seventh Continent 

of intense blue in the snow — vivid splashes of scarlet, 
where the warm carcasses of seals which have been killed 
in our course lie quivering on the snow. A few nellies — 
large brown birds — dance round them very awkwardly 
with their big webbed feet. They peck at each other, 
and then gobble up the warm meat. It is a hideous 
thing, this sealing, and most awfully bloody and cruel. 
Some of the seals were killed with the ice picks — a short 
staff of natural wood about four feet long with a steel 
pick-head; others were shot. Sport there was none. I 
would sooner stalk a bunny with a pea-rifle, behind a 
dyke, than shoot a score of these splendid, dark-eyed 
seal. They showed not the least surprise at our presence 
— just raised their heads, and sometimes snarled at us. 
In killing them with the picks there was the faintest 
element of risk, as the snow was deep, and hard on 
the surface in some places, and soft in others. Some- 
times we plunged in waist deep when delivering a blow, 
and found ourselves unpleasantly close to the seal's 
gaping jaws. Their huge bear-like teeth do not look 
pleasant at close quarters. But the poor beasts only 
acted on the defensive ; if they had had the good sense 
to attack us or take to the water instead of taking to 
the center of the ice-cajkes, there would have been 
trouble. They evidently consider the center of the snow 
pieces their refuge from danger; probably the Orca 
or Grampus treats them here as it does the seals in 
the north. We found some of the seals very much 
scarred with long parallel wounds almost encircling their 
bodies. I think these were marks left by the Grampus ; 
the smaller cuts about their necks and shoulders were 
signs of domestic worries. 

**In the evening we steamed gently up against the 






WILD LIFE NEAR THE SOUTH POLE 



An Important Dundee Whaling Expedition 209 

edge of a large pack some miles long, which bounded 
the comparatively open water of the gulf to the south- 
east. Our bows struck softly against its edge, and 
the screw went on revolving, while some men dropped 
from the martingale and made two wire hawsers fast 
to spikes driven deep into the snow. This position was 
within a mile of the spot where Sir James Ross brought 
in the New Year of 1843. The 'Diana' and 'Active' 
followed, running their black bows over the snow-edge, 
one on each side of us, and distant a few hundred yards. 
>Some of the boats were lowered, and the masters of 
the ships met and had one of their 'mollies,' and the 
men of the three vessels had an opportunity of speaking 
to each other on the snow. It was tremendously hard 
work walking on the snow— a hundred yards quite 
pumped us." 

On Christmas Eve Mr. Murdock paints in glowing 
words the beauty of the Antarctic scene. 

"To-day has passed," he writes, "glistening in silky 
white, decked with sparkling jewels of blue and green, 
and we thought surely we had seen the last of Nature's 
white harmonies ; then evening came, pensive and sooth- 
ing, and grey, and all the white world changed into soft 
violet, pale yellow, and rose. A dreamy stillness fills 
the air. To the south the sun has dipped behind a bank 
of pale grey clouds, and the sky above is touched with 
primrose light. Far to the north the dark smooth sea 
is bounded by two low bergs, that stretch across the 
horizon. The nearest is cold violet white, and th^ sun- 
light strikes the furthest making it shine like a wall 
of gold. The sky above them is of a leaden, peacock 
blue, with rosy cloudlets hanging against it — such col- 
ouring as I have never before seen or heard described. 



210 The Seventh Continent 

To the westward, across the gulf, we can just distin- 
guish the blue-black cra^s jutting from the snowy lo- 
monds. 

''Little clouds touched with gold and rose lie nestling 
in black corries, and gather round the snowy peaks. 
To the south in the centre of the floe, some bergs lie, 
cold and grey in the shadow of the bank of cloud. They 
look like Greek temples imprisoned forever in a field of 
snow. A faint cold air comes stealing to us over the 
floe; it ripples the yellow sky reflection at the ice-edge 
for a moment, and falls away. In the distance a seal 
is barking — a low muffled sound that travels far over 
the calm water, and occasionally a slight splash breaks 
the silence, as a piece of snow separates from the field 
and joins its companion pieces that are floating quietly 
past our stern to the north, — a mysterious, silent pro- 
cession of soft, white spirits, each perfectly reflected in 
the lavendar sea. Nature sleeps — breathlessly — silent ; 
perhaps she dreams of the spirit-world, that seems to 
draw so close to her on such a night. *' 

A few days later he makes comment: 

''Still beating about under sail in the open water, 
with plenty of whales blowing all round, but still no 
right whales.'* 

December 27th he writes: 

"No whales yet, but every one has one ear pricked 
for the long-expected shout, ' A fall ! ' — a shout that will 
make us tumble neck and crop into the boats. Even 
in our bunks we are ready to jump up at a moment's 
notice. We sleep with our clothes beside us, tied up 
in a bundle, so that when the time comes we can jump 
into the boats, and dress as we row. The excitement 
when a whale is seen is almost beyond belief. Men 



An Important Dundee Whaling Expedition 211 

have been known after long spells of whale chasing in 
the boats to go almost off their heads. On the shout 
of 'Tumble up and go to the boats' they have been 
known to rush on deck with their bundles and throw 
them into the water instead of the boats, from sheer 
nervousness. One boat's crew rushed on deck, threw 
their bundles over the side into the boat, as they thought, 
and followed themselves; but there was no boat! So 
at least I am told. One necessary precaution for seal- 
ing or whaling is to have a pair of spare mits sewed 
to the inside of one's jacket, and tobacco and matches 
you put into the pockets over night." 

The ships approached the land sufficiently close to 
distinguish the colouring and form of the rocks which 
are described as reddish in colour without apparent 
signs of lichens or moss. 

Mr. Murdock makes mention of Captain Larson, a 
Norwegian sealer, who in the same season made a cruise 
in the ''Jason" along this same coast and succeeded in 
making a landing where he collected some fossil shells 
and described fossil beds on the beach, containing shells 
and tree-trunks. 

It may be mentioned here that Captain Larson made 
another cruise the following season, landing at Cape 
Seymour on November 18th, 1894; about a quarter of 
a mile from the shore and three hundred feet above 
the sea, where Captain Larson found petrified wood. 

"We took several specimens of these stems with us," 
he writes; "the wood looks as if it might be from de- 
ciduous trees. One recognized the bark with the 
branches and the year rings of the logs, which lay 
slantingly in the soil. Some of the wood looked as if 
it had been thrown out of the water, while some of it 



212 The Seventh Continent 

seemed as if it could not have been in the water, be- 
cause in the first we found petrified worms, while in 
the other we did not find any. At other places we 
found balls formed of sand and cement which lay upon 
pillars of the same kind. We collected in several places 
some fifty of them; they had the appearance of having 
been made by the hand of man." 

Sailing east from Cape Seymour the "Jason'' then 
returned south skirting the eastern coast of West Ant- 
arctica. The most southern point reached by Captain 
Larson was 68° 10' South. The coast which he skirted 
he called King Oscar II. Land and Foyu Land. On 
his return voyage he landed on Christensen Island. This 
voyage of Larson's is particularly noteworthy from the 
mention it makes of the geological formation of Ant- 
arctica. 

Another Norwegian sealer, Captain Evenson, in the 
"Hertha," in company with Captain Morten Pedersen 
of the ''Castor," cruised along the west coast of West 
Antarctica in 1893. Evenson passed Adelaide Island 
and the Biscoe Islands and sighted Alexander Land. 
Ice conditions made it possible for him to reach 69° 10' 
South latitude, 76° 12' West longitude. 

Meanwhile the Edinburgh Antarctic expedition of 
which Mr. Murdock has sketched such a vivid picture, 
was being driven at the mercy of the pack, making a 
vain search for the ''richt whale" — while many finners 
tantalized the crew. Nevertheless, they made up with 
a harvest of seals which they killed in great numbers. 

By January 1, 1893, the fleet were in the neighbor- 
hood of the Danger Islands, once in comparatively open 
water, steering a course east by north, ''picking up 
seals" which were very numerous, 



' / 



An Important Dundee Whaling Expedition 213 

I *'It is a busy scene that goes on all day on deck/^ 
' writes Murdock. ''Immediately after meals all hands 
turn up on deck with their pipes going. They are 
muffled up with cravats, and have their collars turned 
up and the ear flaps of their caps pulled down. Then 
all get their knives out of their wooden sheaths, and 
there is a great rustling as they whet them on their 
steels, and every one sets to work. The old hands 
' stand behind upright boards on which the seal skins 
,are hung, half on each side of the board, blubber side 
up. They cut from left to right with a crisp, greasy, 
swish-swish at each sweep of the thin flat blade. The 
blubber curls off in yellow folds, and falls on deck, and 
a boy throws it with a small pitchfork into the tanks. 
Other boys prepare the skins for the old hands, they 
"catch the lumps of flesh that have been left on the 
blubber in the hasty skinning on the snow with a steel 
hook and cut it off. At first there is plenty of talk, 
and jests fly about, then gradually the talk quiets down, 
and there is little sound but the breathing of the knives 
and the clang of the blubber falling into the metal tanks. 
The men are very tired. Days of constant work with 
poor food, hastily swallowed, have told on them sadly; 
their faces are drawn and their eyes bloodshot; they 
are tired, but they work away cheerily. They will have 
a share in the profits. Such a share, enough to keep 
one in cigarettes for a month ! They don 't like this 
work on deck so well as being out in the boats — they 
feel the cold more. Several of them are filled with rheu- 
matism, and most have festering hands and many have 
scanty clothing. 

''Each group of lads tries to make ready more skins 
than the neighboring group, and the man at the boar(J 



^14 The Seventh Continent 

vies with the man next him in the number of skins he 
makes off. It is tedious, back-breaking, profitless work, 
all this, and it astonishes me to see men take it all 
so easily. Is it not a fortunate thing for society that 
so much contentment comes from hard work?" , 

On Monday, January 16th there is the entry: 

* ' Still wrapped in mist. , . . One of the boats is lost. 
The mist lifted a little, and some of the seal were seen, 
and a boat sent off. It fell immediately and we lost 
sight of the boat. For a time we heard shots, and then 
they seemed utterly lost. . . . We keep the fog horn' 
booming its muffled note every two or three minutes. It 
seems hopeless to send sound through these misty walls. 
In the silence that follows, the white petrels flitting 
past us seem more silent and moth-like than ever. 

** Towards evening the thermometer went up to 35°, 
the highest point it has reached since we entered the 
ice. Later a faint air came from the south and soon 
brought it down below freezing again. As the cold air 
lifted the mist it showed us the foot of a berg a few 
hundred yards from us, its blue and grey sides wrinkled 
and puckered into many folds of pale blue and white. 
The lift in the mist helped us to pick up the boat. 

''The 'Polar Star' has turned up at last," continues 
Murdock. "We thought she had turned back or foun- 
dered. As the mist rose she appeared on the pack-edge 
threading her way towards us under sail through the 
loose ice. We hauled up our ensign and steamed to- 
wards her, playing on the pipes, as is our wont here on 
great occasions. As she came alongside there was much 
cheering. Most of our men have acquaintances on 
board, and some have brothers." 

On January 30th the wind rose almost to a hurricane 



An Important Dundee WhMing Expedition 215 

and the shortening days forewarned the sealers that the 
winter was approaching. They had on board the "Ba- 
laena" 4,800 seals, killed in twenty-eight days. The 
decks were piled with skins and blubber, high above the 
rail — *'a gory heap weighing more than 100 tons." 
There was actual fear lest the decks might be strained 
and the hatches burst. 

By the 3rd of Febiniary they were again in sight 
of the Danger Islands, where they cruised about for 
"three days and noted the loose ice rapidly filling Brans- 
:field Strait. Every indication was toward the rapid 
approach of winter. On the 6th they steamed down to 
the N.E. of Joinville Land, where they met the *' Active.'' 

The following day they record a gale — "always a 
gale," says Murdock — and he adds: *'We are dismally 
tired of the meaningless soughing through the icy 
shrouds, and the clack-clacking of the slack ropes. For 
half an hour at a time we drift broadside to leeward 
with the helm lashed, then steam up again into the 
smooth water on the friendly side of a berg. If we 
fail to gain the shelter of a berg we drift right down 
the wind and dodge in behind the next. One berg is 
as good as another, so be that you get on the right side 
of it." 

By the following Sunday the storm had reached its 
height. "What a pandemonium of sounds," he writes, 
"the wind howling and the timbers creaking and crack- 
ing as the ice pounds against our sides. What the 
men say is true, 'It's time we're oot o' this, an' awa' 
hame.' It is a trifle too dangerous for the philosophic 
contemplation of life. 

"On Thursday the 16th of February, the gale was 
past and the 'Balaena' was gently rolling in a short, 



216 The Seventh Continent 

smooth swell, amid scattered pieces of ice, the oppressive? 
stillness only broken by the grinding on our sides of a 
piece of ice against which the ship is resting/' 

*^The very last skins are being made off," writes 
Murdock. ''The snow is falling and dusting the men's, 
worn clothes, hanging on their shaggy beards and caps; 
till they look like models of old father Christmas. Thos© 
who are not making off are busied clearing up the decks 
and making all fast in the 'tween decks before we take 
to the high seas again. The 'Jason' is alongside. She 
will not leave the ice for several days yet, though sh& 
has more seals on board her than we have, yet she still, 
has room for more. We are indebted to her master for- 
supplying us with salt to preserve our seal-skins. I^ 
am told that this act of kindness on the part of Norwe- 
gian captains has never had its equal in whaling rec- 
ords. 

"The four black barques are here together, collected 
like crows on a field in the evening before taking flight.. 
The 'Polar Star' has flown already; these gales must 
have blown her clean out of the ice and away north, 
or, as some say, sunk her. She was far too small and 
fragile for this work, with engines far too weak to 
contend with the buffeting of the gales and ice, though 
I am told she can lick us off our feet, in the open sea, 
but that is no great matter to make her owners gay. 

"All the boats are being brought in board and turned 
upside down on the skids, and soon we hope to be 
swinging under them again, in our hammocks, in the 
heat of the tropics. 

"We are lying in Bransfield Straits this afternoon 
between Joinville Land to the south, and the South 
Bhetlands on the north; to-morrow we shall see thenx. 



An Important Dundee Whaling Expedition 217 

on our way north.'* 

On Saturday, February 18th he makes the jubilant 
entry: 

"Home! Home! Hurrah! we are off to the North 
again. To and fro we swing into the seaway, already 
out of the still ice-sea, plunging along over 'the rough 
highway to Freedom and to Peace/ It is as if we had 
broken from the woof of an eerie, beautiful dream, and 
wakened in the broad day. And so we turned from 
the mystery of the Antarctic with all its white-bound 
secrets still unread, as if we had stood before ancient 
volumes that told of the past and the beginning of all 
things, and had not opened them to read. Now we go 
home to the world that is worn down with the feet of 
many people, to gnaw in our discontent the memory of 
what we could have done, but did not do." 



CHAPTER XI 

THE BELGIAN SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION 

THE interesting coast of East Antarctica was vis- 
ited in tlie summer of 1894-1895 by the Norwe- 
gian steam whaler ''Antarctic." This vessel left 
Melbourne, Australia, September 20th, 1894, and by 
November 6th was advanced sufficiently into the ice 
to mistake an immense ice island for land, to which 
was given the name Svend Foyn Island. By December 
14th they reached the Balleny Islands and had a great 
deal of difficulty penetrating the ice. They reached 
Cape Adare on January 16th and two days later landed 
several members of the expedition at Possession Island. 
The "Antarctic" now steered southwest of Coulman 
Island in latitude 74°. Turning north once more she 
made Cape Adare by January 23rd and was fortunate 
to make the first successful landing on Victoria Land. 
Following this expedition was the famous Belgian ex- 
pedition of 1898-1899, under the able leadership of Lieu- 
tenant Adrien de Gerlache, of the Belgian Navy. The 
energetic efforts of this young and enthusiastic explorer 
were successful in raising private subscriptions, and 
finally the support of the Belgian government, to the 
amount of $60,000, not a very large sum for so impor- 
tant an enterprise. With this sum was secured and 
equipped a Norwegian sealer of about 250 tons register, 
which was rechristened the "Belgia." 

218 



The Belgian Scientific Expedition 219 

The expedition was purely for scientific exploration, 
its itinerary to depend upon circumstances and con- 
ditions met with in the Antarctic. An important mem- 
ber of this expedition was Eoald Amundsen of Norway, 
the future discoverer of the South Pole and famous nav- 
igator of the Northwest Passage. 

Other men of distinction were aboard and the per- 
sonnel included a wide range in mental efficiency and 
varied nationality. The complement of officers and crew 
numbered nineteen. 

The ''Belgia" sailed from Antwerp the last of Au- 
gust, 1897, touched at Madeira, then at Rio de Janeiro, 
skirted the coast of South America to Montevideo and 
hence to the Strait of Magellan. January 13th, 1898, 
she left Staten Island bound for the Antarctic. Sight- 
ing the South Shetlands, the ^'Belgia" plunged into vio- 
lent gales, losing a man overboard, and after proceeding 
through Bransfield Strait reached the outskirts of 
Palmer Archipelago, January 23rd, 1898. The expedi- 
tion now entered a hitherto unknown strait and charted 
the coast lands for a distance of about 500 miles. Upon 
emerging from this strait the ''Belgia" skirted the west- 
ern border of Graham Land as far as Adelaide Island, 
then proceeded to Alexander Island. 

The "Belgia" encountered the Polar pack on the 
eastern border of Graham Land, before crossing the Ant- 
arctic Circle, about February 13, 1898, and she did not 
escape therefrom until March 14, 1899. 

Storms, sleet and snow, drizzly fogs and high winds 
constantly attended the slow advance southward; a 
clear day was a rarity. On February 28th, the men 
were forced to take to the ice, that the ship might 
better ride out the terrific gale. The high winds forced 



220 The Seventh Continent 

her in and out of the pack, time and time again, but 
she steadily endeavored to progress south. As the ship 
advanced the icebergs became greater in size and the 
long easy swell of the South Pacific was felt more and 
more perceptibly. The waves dashed against the sides 
of the ship, tons of floating ice crashed with them, and 
the voices of the men could hardly be heard against 
the din. As the ship penetrated farther into the pack, 
it became evident that the difficulty of returning became 
more and more complicated and on March 4th at a 
distance of three hundred miles from the Antarctic 
Circle in latitude 71° 22' South, longitude 84° 55', 
the ''Belgia'' could neither advance nor retreat. The 
ship was blown at the mercy of the winds in the pack 
at the rate of about forty to fifty miles a day, and for 
a period of nearly thirty months drifted thus in a zig- 
zag westerly course, a distance of about 2,000 miles. 

Preparations were made by members of the expedi- 
tion for wintering in the pack, the season of the Ant- 
arctic night fell rapidly and with it the lowering tem- 
perature, which reached in successive stages twenty, 
thirty and finally forty-five degrees below zero. The 
scientists aboard busied themselves with observations 
and study, while the other members of the expedition 
hunted seals and sea birds. 

Preparations to resist the cold had included embank- 
ing the sides of the ship with snow block, while inside 
everything had been made as snug and warm as the 
equipment allowed. 

The beauty of the Aurora Australis was a great 
source of pleasure to the observers, and repeated itself 
frequently during the early part of the Antarctic night. 

Small outbuildings were erected for taking magnetic 




AURORA AUSTRALIS 

From a Sketch by C. Wilkes, U. S. N. 



The Belgian Scientific Expedition 221 

observations. Sundry jaunts and long journeys over 
the ice pack were made on snow shoes or skis. 

On May 16th, the sun set and the Arctic night closed 
down for the long months. The continual darkness 
had a notable effect upon the energies of the men and 
though a certain amount of regular work was accom- 
plished, it was not nearly as great as had been expected 
and was done with less spirit and greater physical and 
mental effort than it would ordinarily have required 
under normal conditions. The long days passed in 
wearying monotony save for the brief excursions taken 
by moonlight across the ice. 

At the beginning of the Arctic night, with the ex- 
ception of a few patients suffering from rheumatism and 
neuralgia, the health of the crew remained fair; never- 
theless with the advance of the dark the general debility 
of the members of the expedition showed itself in pale 
faces and general lassitude. One death resulted, June 
5th, 1898, that of Lieutenant Danco. 

Fresh meat in the form of penguins and seals was 
added to the usual menu of tinned food. Although this 
meat had been considered unpalatable in the early part 
of the voyage, it was now welcomed and the immediate 
benefit resulted by this change of diet in the health 
and spirits of the expedition. 

The refraction of the sun was welcomed as a hopeful 
indication, some days before its actual appearance in 
a pale, feeble light on July 25th. Strange as it may 
seem it was with the. reappearance of the sun that 
some of the coldest weather of the winter was experi- 
enced, the thermometer varying little above 30 to 40 
degrees below zero. As the feeble light of the sun grew 
stronger its heat caused lanes of open water to form in 



222 The Seventh Continent 

the pack, finback and bottle-nose whales were numerous, 
but not the right whale of commerce. 

The men now found their time fully occupied in 
the various duties incident to a scientific voyage. Never- 
theless, though hopes of delivery from the ice pack con- 
tinued at fever heat, the advance of the Antarctic 
summer did not release the captives and the precious 
days of daylight slipped by one after another without 
the longed for escape. 

Plans for a voyage of exploration to Palmer Archi- 
pelago and to the Weddell seas which had been talked 
of with so much anticipation by Lieutenant de Gerlache 
and the officers during the monotonous Antarctic night 
came to be gradually abandoned as the short season 
waned with no prospects of navigation. 

The one idea in the minds of all was to extricate the 
*'Belgia" before the approach of another dreary winter. 
Hopes that the pack would release them in November 
were dashed, and that month and the next drifted 
slowly to a close. 

The ice in the vicinity of the ship varied to a thick- 
ness of twenty-five feet; explosives, especially tonite 
were used but without effect. The situation grew des- 
perate at Christmas time and the heroic suggestion of 
cutting a canal to the water's edge, a distance of 2,400 
feet, was undertaken as a final expedient for release. 

The little force of sixteen men set to work with saws, 
pickaxes, and shovels and in three groups of eight-hour 
shifts, worked desperately day and night for five weary 
weeks; they were rewarded February 14th, by safely 
steaming out of the canal and into open water. 

Joyous but brief as was this first step toward ultimate 
safety, the ship was a^ain held fast for another month 



The Belgian Scientific Expedition 223 

at the edge of the pack, and it seemed as if a second 
winter in the Antarctic was inevitable. Fortunately 
March 14, a southerly wind pushed them gently beyond 
the line of icebergs and they steamed rapidly into open 
water. The ''Belgia" left the pack in latitude 70° 45' 
South, longitude 103° West. They now made for the 
nearest port, Punta Arenas. 

The farthest south made by the 'Belgia' Antarctic 
Expedition was on March 31st when they stood in lati- 
tude 71° 36' 5", longitude 87° 33' 30". 

Besides the important scientific results of the hourly 
meteorological observation under the supervision of M. 
Arctowki, the series of magnetic observations, by Mr. 
Lecomte resulted in placing the magnetic pole about 200 
miles east of the position previously assigned to it. The 
zoological work of M. Racovitza Lieutenant de Gerlache 
added to the map of the South Polar regions Belgica 
Strait, which was discovered by Nathaniel Palmer in 
1831. The land to the east he named * * Terre de Danco, ' ' 
and to the west in recognition of Palmer ^s discoveries he 
called this archipelago "Archipe de Palmer." To the 
numerous small islands, over a hundred in number, dis- 
covered in Gerlache Strait, many names were given, in- 
cluding Braband, Anvers and Wienke Islands. 

Danco Land is described as unbroken save for in- 
dentations, the ice barrier from fifteen to thirty meters 
in height, boarded the entire coast line. This land is 
six hundred to twelve hundred meters high, covered with 
the everlasting matter of snow and ice ; mountains were 
sighted in the far distance. 

The immense plateau described between 75° and 103° 
West longitude and 70° to 71° 36' South latitude, with 
an approximate depth of from two hundred to five hun- 



224 The Seventh Continent 

dred meters, and an abrupt fall to fifteen hundred me- 
ters towards the north, indicates an immense unbroken 
continental mass across the Polar regions. 

The ''Belgia" Expedition might be called a pioneer 
wedge for the more recent Antarctic discoveries, and 
was unprecedented for the wealth of scientific data 
which it brought home. 

In the years 1898 and 1899 another scientific expe- 
dition, this time under German auspices, penetrated 
the Antarctic regions. This expedition under the leader- 
ship of Professor Carl Chun and Captain Krech, sailed 
in the ''Valdivia" for the purpose of taking deep-sea 
soundings. The ship steered south from Cape Town 
the 13th of November, 1898, and passed without sight- 
ing Thompson and Liverpool Islands. Bouvet Island 
was located in 54° 26' South latitude, 3° 24' East longi- 
tude. Chun then proceeded east and south following 
the edge of the pack from 8° East longitude to 58° East 
longitude, and south to 64° 15', 54° 20' East longitude, 
to a point about one hundred miles from Enderby Land. 
Every indication pointed to land in the vicinity and 
it is a question if many of the high ice peaks sighted 
in the distance did not belong to it. 

Professor Chun and Captain Krech made important 
scientific discoveries in the deep sea soundings and the 
formation of the disintegrating icebergs between Bouvet 
Island and 40° East longitude; the collections in the 
trawls showed gneiss, schist, red sand stone, and granite. 

The end of December the "Valdivia" came north to 
Kerguelen Island, and then proceeded on her homeward 
voyage. 

The following year, 1898-1900, Mr. C. E. Borchgre- 
yink led an expedition in the ''Bouthern Cross" to East 



The Belgian Scientific Expedition 225 

Antarctica. This expedition was unique, as its members 
were the first to winter on the shores of Antarctica. 
The sum of £40,000 had been subscribed by Sir George 
Newnes, Bart. ; the object of the expedition was to 
spend a winter on shore for the purpose of collecting 
meteorological and magnetic observations covering an 
entire year. 

*'Our knowledge of those conditions," writes Mr; 
Louis Bernacchi, ''being at that time practically nil, 
and for the purpose of adding to our general knowledge 
of those regions, both scientific and geographical. The 
ship, upon which an expedition of this kind so much 
depends, was an adapted whaler purchased in Norway, 
and rechristened the 'Southern Cross,' after that much 
quoted constellation near the South Pole. She was 
small, being only 522 tons gross tonnage, and 147 feet 
in length, but admirably adapted for navigating in the 
heavy and dense South Polar ice-packs, where a small 
ship, answering her helm very readily, is essential. The 
engines were excellent, being quite new and almost too 
powerful for the size of the ship." 

The ''Southern Cross" sailed from London August 
22nd, 1898, and by November 2nd stood off the Crozet 
Islands; by the 27th the Tasmanian Coast was sighted, 
just ninety-seven days after leaving London. 

The last day of the year 1898 the "Southern Cross" 
ploughed her dangerous way into the Antarctic ice pack, 
in latitude 61° 56' South and longitude 158° 55' East. 
The color of the sea now changed to a dull muddy green. 
Within the space of an hour thousands of small blocks 
of ice were within sight and half an hour later the 
ship was in the midst of them. Bernacchi writes : 

"It had all happened so suddenly, that we could 



226 The Seventh Continent 

scarcely realize we were really beset in the ice pack about 
which we had read and heard so much! Within an 
hour of sighting the first piece, we were in the thick 
of it!" 

''The year 1899," he continues, "will ever remain an 
eventful one in our lives. We saw the 'Old Year out 
and the New Year in ' in orthodox fashion, with ringing 
of bells and blowing of fog horns, tooting of steam 
whistles and clattering of tin cans, howling of dogs, 
and salutes from our guns, a pandemonium truly, and 
one which in this silent world of ice sounded weird in 
the extreme. At one o'clock we witnessed the splendid 
spectacle of the rising of the sun over those white flats. 
Glorious it was beyond all expectation. At first there 
was but a pale pink colour in the eastern sky; but this 
slowly deepened and grew richer and richer. At last 
the gorgeous purple edge of the sun swept up from 
beneath the horizon. An intense stillness prevailed 
everywhere. The impressiveness and loveliness of the 
scene is indescribable. In a short time the whole of 
the majestic orb was visible, and a broad stream of 
crimson light shot across the glittering floes, changing 
their pure whiteness to a blood-red hue. Owing to the 
great refraction in those high latitudes, flames appeared 
to dart across the horizon, and resembled a mighty con- 
flagration. Higher and higher he rose, changing the 
colour from dark red to every variety of shade, paler and 
paler it grew, until at last the grandeur of the scene 
had passed away." 

The vessel now steamed through the pack from hole 
to hole, the ice becoming heavier and more compact 
as it advanced. 

"For forty-three long days," writes Bernacchi, "we 



The Belgian Scientific Expedition 227 

were imprisoned in that dreadful ice pack; the longest 
period a ship has ever taken to get through it. On 
first entering it, ice was visible to the horizon in the 
south and west, whilst in the east and southeast there 
was open water. Our experiences and those of other 
explorers tend to prove that the ice pack on the Aus- 
tralian side of the Antarctic circle is not nearly so 
dense in an easterly as it is in a westerly direction. 
Ships that have entered the pack in about 170° East 
Longitude have penetrated it in a few days, whilst those 
entering in between 150° and 165° East have taken 
more than a month. There are numerous instances in 
the history of Antarctic navigation which go to prove 
this. A strong cold surface current appears to set out 
from Koss Sea in a north-westerly direction driving 
the ice up northwards, between Kerguelen Island and 
Australia. At Cape Adare huge bergs were often ob- 
served during perfectly calm weather travelling at about 
four knots an hour towards the north-west. The lower 
latitudes reached by the pack-ice naturally fall short of 
the extreme, and to some extent even of the mean, limit 
of icebergs; nevertheless the sea ice reaches fairly low 
latitudes, and like the icebergs mostly so in the Atlantic, 
where it had been known to arrive at and beyond 48° 
South. On the other hand icebergs have frequently 
been seen as far north as 40° S. Indeed, on the 30th 
of April, 1894, a piece of ice was seen in Latitude 
26° 30' S., and longitude 25° 40' W., the remnant, no 
doubt, of a huge iceberg. The sea-ice which constitutes 
the bulk of the pack is first formed by the freezing of 
the sea in the winter along the shores of the Antarctic 
lands. This freezes to an average depth of from four 
to five feet, and extends out into the ocean for perhaps 



228 The Seventh Continent 

fifty miles, until the formation of an uninterrupted sheet 
of ice is prevented by its perpetual violent agitation. 
This ice begins to break up early in November and 
more northwards, and by the middle of January the 
coasts are almost free. As this body of sea-ice moves 
towards the north it is frequently driven back by north- 
erly winds. Thus in consequence of the circumstance 
that land lies to the south, which excludes the possi- 
bility of more sea-ice following in support, an open 
sea, comparatively free from ice, is met with in the Ant- 
arctic regions almost regularly when the principal zone 
of pack ice has been pierced." 

On January 10, 1899, a faint grey light in the far dis- 
tance, indicated land, and upon the approach proved to 
be one of the volcanic Bellamy Islands. On the 27th 
the Antarctic Circle was crossed. 

After experiencing much trouble with the ice, the 
** Southern Cross" reached Cape Adare on the 17th of 
February. Here Mr. Borchgrevink and members of his 
party landed, establishing themselves at Camp Ridley. 

' * The prospect from where we were was extensive, but 
scarcely beautiful," writes Mr. Bernacchi. "Down at 
our feet lay the sea, almost free of ice-pack. Huge 
stranded icebergs, defying the power of the solar beams, 
were visible in various directions along the coast. Be- 
hind us lay the great Antarctic Land, snow peaks rising 
beyond one another until by distance they dwindled 
away to insignificance. The silence and immobility of 
the scene was impressive; not the slightest animation 
or vitality anywhere. It was like a mental image of 
our globe in its primitive state — a spectacle of Chaos. 
Around us ice and snow and the remnants of eternal 
fires; above, a sinister sky; below, the sombre sea; and 



The Belgian Scientific Expedition 229 

over all, the silence of the sepulchre ! ' ' 

Hardly had the party landed and the construction 
of the huts been started when a great blizzard came on 
and nearly resulted in the loss of the ship. The storm 
descended very suddenly — nine members of the expedi- 
tion were on shore, with only the protection of a Lapp 
tent, on the plan of an Indian wigwam, open at the top. 
Stones were piled around it and the men took refuge 
within. 

** Toward night," writes the narrator, "the wind in- 
creased until it blew with appalling force, bringing along 
with it tons of drift snow. A heavy sea beat upon the 
shore and commenced to wash away the cargo which 
had been landed, and we had to turn out and toil for 
hours in the blizzard to save it, during which operations 
we acquired our first experience of frostbite. The ship 
could nowhere be seen for the darkness and drifting 
snow, and we had little hope of her being able to brave 
the storm; nor, in this event, had we much hope for 
ourselves, for we had practically no shelter, and scarcely 
a year's provisions. In the tent we were compelled to 
extinguish the fire. Then it became piercing cold; the 
whole pack of dogs, however, scrambled into the tent, 
and by laying on top of us kept us from actually freez- 
ing. Watches were kept throughout the night. At mid- 
night, when I was on watch with Lieutenant Colbeck, 
the tent gave unmistakable signs of departing, of which 
fact my fellow watcher seemed blissfully unconscious. 
I therefore suggested that we should go out and pile 
more stones around it, and lash it down with ropes, an 
idea with which he did not seem particularly struck, and 
rather carelessly opined that only one was necessary for 
the job. Alas! at such times the best of us are mon- 



230 The Seventh Continent 

sters of iniquity and egoism ! At last we went out, and 
as we fiercely pitched the stones on to the tent, the talent 
exhibited of launching invectives against it, and the 
wind, and the South Polar regions generally, was, to 
say the least, unusual. 'The English are a dumb peo- 
ple, they can do great things, but not describe them. ' 
So says Carlyle. There are, however, exceptions; for 
our descriptions at that time were fairly graphic. 

''The wind continued all next morning, and it was 
not until the afternoon that we caught sight of our ship 
through the drifting snow. Late in the evening, the sea 
had sufficiently subsided to permit us getting on board, 
where we found that our companions had had a more 
terrible experience. Very early during the storm the 
cables had parted and the ship commenced to drift out 
to sea, towards certain destruction among the ice bergs. 
The engines, however, by steaming full speed, proved 
sufficiently strong to keep her almost stationary with her 
head to the wind. Stones blew on to the deck from 
the mountain, and once, at a critical juncture, an at- 
tempt was made to cut away the main mast, but this 
could not be done on account of the great danger to life 
it involved. The old ship looked as if she had had a 
bad time and she was completely covered in ice from 
the flying spray." 

The "Southern Cross" left the scientific members of 
the party at Cape Adare the first of March, 1899, and 
steered her course for New Zealand, her purpose being 
to winter in Australian waters and return to Cape Adare 
in the beginning of 1900. Upon the departure of the 
ship, those remaining on shore occupied themselves in 
completing the construction of the huts, storing provi- 
sions and coal and making ready for the coming winter. 



The Belgiaii Scientific Expedition 231 

The huts, two in number, each 15 feet by 15 feet, one 
used exclusively for provisions and the other for living 
purposes, were fastened securely with cables passed over 
the roof, so that the frequent blizzards would not carry 
them bodily into the sea. Sealskins were stretched over 
the roof to insure greater warmth, and the frequent snow 
storms soon buried these shelters under banks of drifts. 

''What with the double lining, double doors and win- 
dows," writes Bernacchi, "the want of ventilation, and 
the seal skins and snow outside, the living room, when 
a fire was burning, became at times too warm, and after 
the winter, with its accumulated dirt of months, the 
atmosphere of the interior became so foul as to be al- 
most unbearable. As a matter of fact, the dimensions 
of the living room were too small to accommodate ten 
men comfortably." 

Meteorological instruments were set up and carefully 
protected, observations were taken every two hours, from 
nine o'clock in the morning until nine o'clock at night, 
and during the severe winter months, this duty was per- 
formed every half hour during the entire twenty-four 
hours. 

Magnetic observations were also commenced and car- 
ried on systematically in spite of the intense cold in 
the shelter of an open Finn tent. 

The geologists were equally busy collecting specimens 
of penguins, seals and skua-gulls — before the departure 
of these birds which occurred about the end of March. 
Notwithstanding the numerous gales experienced during 
March and April the work was continued with unremit- 
ting zeal. 

The scientists immediately began preparations for 
numerous short journeys into the interior. 



232 The Seventh Continent 

On one of these short expeditions, undertaken on 
April 17th, by Mr. Tongner and Mr. Bernacchi, for the 
purpose of examining the condition of the ice in Eob- 
ertson Bay, a beautiful large cave in a volcanic cliff was 
discovered. This ice grotto formed out of the rough 
rock, had been hewn out by the irresistible power of the 
sea and the grinding of the ice. 

*'The floor of the interior," writes Bernacchi, "con- 
sisted of floating blocks of ice, and from the roof hung 
a magnificent mass of icicles, some delicate and fantas- 
tic, others huge and polished like ivory, some gleaming 
with a thousand iridescent colours, and glittering with 
the opaline sheen of mother o' pearl and others pure 
white, as the foam on high billows. 

** Silence, chillness and partial obscurity within; no 
sound but the weird crunching of the ice, the only move- 
ment, the gentle rise and fall of the icy floor with the 
tide. Once a day, for a brief few minutes, the sun 
streams into this gelid cave and tips the crystals with 
gold, and a broad band of bright light flows over the 
moving floor. Then this became a scene of surpassing 
loveliness, and from the outside looked like a golden 
entrance to some glorious fairy land." 

A sledge journey undertaken in April proved almost 
a tragedy. It had been the intention to reach the south- 
ern extremity of Robertson Bay by travelling over the 
sea ice. The party consisted of the commander, Mr. 
Bernacchi, Mr. Tongner and one of the Finns; three 
sledges drawn by twenty dogs carried the equipment, 
including a collapsible boat, and provisions for twenty 
days. By afternoon of the first day, an approaching 
storm and patches of open water, warned the party of 
their danger. An attempt was made to seek the safety 



The Belgian Scientific Expedition 233 

of land and after some difficulty they managed to reach 
the shore, taking shelter in a small hollow close to the 
water where they pitched their tent, under a perpen- 
dicular cliff, which rose to a height of about 600 feet. 

During the night ''a terrible roar like the sound of 
artillery made itself audible above the wind, and the 
echoes rolled up among the rocks of the cliffs. Roar 
after roar succeeded each other in a way that may with 
perfect truth be termed appalling. It was the pack 
breaking up ! ' ' 

''At 5.30 A. M.," writes Mr. Bernacchi, "I awoke 
the commander for his watch and turned into a sleeping 
bag. At that time the wind was increasing, and the 
sea had already commenced to break on the shore. At 
about 7.30 a. m., we were hurriedly awakened in order 
to save ourselves and our equipment, but it had been left 
until rather late. We had only just crawled out of the 
tent when three huge seas followed each other in quick 
succession, striking one sledge and dashing the white 
foam over the tent. We worked below for our lives, and 
succeeded in taking down the tent and putting it and 
the sleeping-bags upon the lightest sledge, which was 
then pulled up out of reach of the sea. We next set to 
work to save the provision-sledge, but this was a most 
arduous task, on account of its great weight ; and it was 
only by inches that we moved it. The last thing to be 
saved was the collapsible boat. It had been washed off its 
sledge by the seas, and the Finn and I had to lift it on 
and make it fast, many seas dashing up and over us 
as we worked. 

' ' At last everything was safe and we were able to rest 
from our exertions; 'rest' such as it was, in the bitter 
cold and drenching spray. The seas had carried away 



234 The Seventh Continent 

most of the dog food ; also a changing box for our cam- 
era, with some photographic plates, and all the provi- 
sions we had out for supper. 

' ' What a whirling and fearsome mass of Antarctic wa- 
ters raged beneath us! No sign of ice! nothing but 
sheets of spray and the dull beating of the sea at the 
base of the slope. The fury of the blasts was at times 
fearful, and the spray dashed right up to the narrow 
ledge upon which we were standing. A huge mass of 
ice-blocks on the shore, to the left, partly sheltered us 
from the seas, but for which they would probably have 
reached the ledge and washed us off. 

* ' The storm continued all day, and it was only towards 
the late afternoon that the sullen skies began to clear. 
The seas still lashed the shore with angry thuds of pas- 
sion, but the strength of the wind was gradually sink- 
ing. About 8 p. M. the sky cleared completely, the stars 
shone forth brightly, and the light of the moon shot 
across the waters of the bay. It was decided to take 
watch that night, two and two, of six hours each. The 
Finn and I took the first, from 8 p. m. till 2 a. m. It 
was more like six months than six hours; no period has 
ever appeared so long or passed more wearily. 

' * The Finn crawled underneath the rocks of the ledge, 
with his reindeer 'pesk' and half a dozen dogs for blan- 
kets, and promptly went to sleep most of the time. 
Therefore I was left alone pacing up and down, hour 
after hour, on the narrow ledge, scarce three feet wide 
and only thirty feet long. It was bitterly cold, the tem- 
perature being about 10° Fahr., so one was compelled to 
tramp up and down to prevent freezing." 

The following day the gale had subsided, and it was 
possible to see the Camp at Cape Adare, where signals 



The Belgian Scientific Expedition 235 

were exchanged, but the stranded party could not hope 
for rescue. That evening Mr. Tongner and the Finn 
set out in the small collapsible boat in an effort to reach 
the main camp. They, however, were caught in sludge 
ice and obliged to put into shore and make a hazardous 
return to the stranded party. 

The following day, April 27th, another fearful gale 
raged ; there was no sleep for any one that night and the 
plight of the men became desperate. The following 
morning it was decided to make an attempt to scale 
the almost perpendicular cliffs ; this dangerous and peril- 
ous climb was begun. Four hours were consumed in 
reaching the top, a climb of about 600 feet. It now be- 
came necessary to ascend an intervening mountain in 
order to reach Cape Adare. With only a few biscuits 
for refreshments and nothing to drink, the party slowly 
wended its way up the precipitous sides. It was a clear, 
cold night, ' ' not a cloud in the sky, not a breath of wind. 
The stars shone forth in all their splendor ; the Southern 
Cross overhead, the brilliant star Sirius flashing in the 
west, and the constellation of Orion low down on the 
horizon. Occasionally we rested and gazed on the 
strange and novel scene before us, ' ' continues Bernacchi. 
* ' A full moon in all its brilliancy lit up the bay, so that 
every feature in the weird and desolate landscape could 
be plainly distinguished. Away in the distance Mount 
Sabine, tipped with silver rays of the moon, seemed the 
leviathan among that huge congregation of mountains. 

*'The scene was wonderful and magnificent from its 
savage desolation. The deepest stillness prevailed — 
not even the slightest murmur rose from the ice below. 
All dangers, hardships and annoyances were forgotten. 
It was such a night as to fill the heart like a holy chal- 



236 The Seventh Continent 

ice with the rich wine of joy and gratitude; when Na- 
ture wears her most serene and noble aspect; when it 
seems good to live, good to work, good to hope, good to 
love — good to be even the smallest portion of the divine 
and splendid order of the Universe. 

''Hour after hour we continued our way, following a 
jagged ridge of rough volcanic rocks. The top seemed 
very far away, and we were very tired; 3,000 ft., 4,000 
ft., 5,000 ft., and yet we were still a few hundred feet 
from its summit. The solitude was immense, no sign 
of life anywhere ; not a bird ; not an insect ; not a ves- 
tige of vegetation. An absolute sterility prevailed. 
One became strangely intoxicated with the silence and 
utter lack of life. Strange and solemn regions of the 
South Pole ! For how many centuries has the same aw- 
ful solitude existed and for how many centuries will it 
still continue? 

''On reaching the summit an icy wind blew on our 
faces; the temperature must have been below zero, and 
suffered badly from thirst. The Finn, who appeared 
to suffer most, made an abominable concoction of pure 
spirit and jam, which he seemed to enjoy. In descend- 
ing, the commander and the Finn forged ahead and 
reached camp somewhat before us. Hanson, good fel- 
low, met Tongner and me at the base of the mountain 
with a bottle of water. How delicious it tasted! How 
pleased we were to return to warmth and comfort, after 
our trying perch on a ledge for six long days and nights. 
The little hut that evening was a palace and our hard 
bunks beds of softest down." 

At Camp Adare great anxiety had been felt for the 
absent ones and fears entertained for their safety. 
After the exchange of signals an unsuccessful attempt 



The Belgian Scientific Expedition 237 

had been made to reach them in a boat, but the sludge 
ice had prevented rescue by this means. 

From May 2nd until the following December the sea 
again froze — and the Antarctic night with its terrors 
in gales and storms settled down on the little band of 
adventurers. On seventy-two days — or 20 per cent of 
the time spent on this desolate coast — the wind blew 
from the E.S.E. to S.E. with a velocity above forty miles 
an hour — *'at which stage," comments Bernacchi, ''the 
Robinson anemometers were demolished." 

On the 14th May in a temperature of — 31° Fahr. 
several members of the expedition witnessed a very in- 
teresting phenomenon. They came in sight of a large 
patch of open water ; * * the ice in some inexplicable man- 
ner had broken up during the night and large blocks 
were moving swiftly along the shore, apparently borne 
by the tide. Columns of dark vapor rose like altar- 
smoke towards the tranquil heavens; vapour in a com- 
plete state of congelation. It attained a height of 
nearly 200 feet, and so dense that one could see no 
objects through it." 

The sun remained in obscurity from May 15th until 
July 29th; the party suffered the usual symptoms of 
depression of spirits induced by the dismalness of the 
South Polar night, but kept up their general physical 
health to a remarkable degree; no one suffered from 
heart trouble, nervousness or sleeplessness. For days 
at a time the thermometer remained at — 30° Fahr., very 
little work was possible during the dark, cold months, 
"so," says Bernacchi, ''we waxed fat and apathetic out 
of pure inertion and sloth ! it was a life of merely bovine 
repose. Whilst our godliness was indisputable, as much 
could scarcely be said for our cleanliness. Ablutions 



238 The Seventh Continent 

were rare on account of the difficulty of melting snow 
to procure water, so we were soon disguised in dirt, a 
disguise made more effective by the growth of long patri 
archal hair and beards, which really saved a peck of 
trouble in the way of shaving. ' ' 

Some of the coldest temperatures were experienced 
with the first return of the sun, and out of doors it was 
necessary to keep moving or be badly frost bitten. 

A serious misadventure that occurred during the Polar 
night was the accidental setting fire to one of the huts. 
Fortunately the fire was extinguished without great dam- 
age having been suffered, but extra precautions were 
henceforth taken to insure the safety of the party. 

In July, the zoologist, Mr. Nicolai Hanson, evidenced 
symptoms of scurvy, and for long, weary weeks he suf- 
fered patiently, tended by the unremitting care of the 
doctor and his comrades, only to die heroically October 
14th, and there in the lonely grave on the summit of 
Victoria Land he lies interred. 

With the return of the sun came a renewal of the 
sledge journeys and the scientific work rapidly advanced. 

The rocks of the surrounding country are volcanic in 
origin and represent basaltic lava flows. The ground 
was bare of vegetation, except for six different kinds of 
lichens, including the familiar reindeer moss. Three 
types of small insects were discovered by Dr. Klovstad 
amid specimens of moss. They were very minute, but 
the antennas were clearly visible to the naked eye. The 
Antarctic seas swarm with invertebrate animals, especi- 
ally in shallow water, and an abundance of five different 
kinds of fish were found in Robertson Bay. 

^'The appalling poverty of the flora of the Antarctic 
regions stands out in glaring light when compared with 



The Belgian Scientific Expedition 239 

that of the Arctic regions," writes Mr. Bernacchi, ''for 
whilst various species of flowering plants are found in 
high northern latitudes, only the minutest fonns of 
vegetable life, such as lichens and mosses, have been 
found in high southern latitudes, and so scanty as only 
to be found in a few places on the northern slopes." 

On January 28th, 1900, the party rejoiced over the ar- 
rival of the "Southern Cross," upon which they em- 
barked and went south, skirting the coast of Victoria 
Land. Members of the expedition landed in Southern 
Cross Firth, at the foot of Mount Melbourne and again 
near Mount Terror. Smoke could be easily distinguished 
rising at intervals from Mount Erebus. 

The ship then proceeded along the ice barrier in an 
easterly direction until February 17th, when she reached 
78° 34' South latitude and 164° 10' West longitude; 
when she entered an indentation in the ice wall and 
found herself in a sheltered bay. 

A sledge party consisting of the commander, Lieu- 
tenant Colbeck, and one of the Lapps, landed and started 
southward. They travelled south over ten miles across 
the great smooth sheet and from their turning point 
farthest south, a distance of 40 miles beyond Ross's 
farthest in 1842, nothing could be seen but an unbroken, 
level expanse of ice extending to the limitless horizon. 
With the return of the party bearing the proud record 
of having attained the Farthest South up to that date, 
the members of the expedition were borne northward 
aboard the ''Southern Cross.'* 



CHAPTER XII 

CAPTAIN SCOTT 'S EXPLORATIONS 

WITH the dawn of the 20th century a remarkable 
impetus was given to Antarctic discovery. Be- 
fore this date various articles written by Sir 
Clements Markham and others demonstrating the im- 
portance of sending a scientific expedition from Eng- 
land to the South Polar regions, had stimulated atten- 
tion to this vast unexplored area. 

In Germany, Professor Meumayer, a valiant advocate 
of explorations under the Southern Cross had advanced 
a strong argument when he stated: 

*'It is certain that without an examination and a 
survey of the magnetic properties of the Antarctic re- 
gions, it is utterly hopeless to strive, with prospects of 
success, at the advancement of the theory of the earth *s 
magnetism. ' ' 

Scientific bodies, such as the Royal Geographical So- 
ciety, discussed the importance of continued, laborious, 
and systematic explorations in high Southern latitudes. 

As early as 1895 the International Geographical Con- 
gress held in London originated the plan for the col- 
laboration of several countries, with the object of carry- 
ing out simultaneous observations, in accordance to one 
systematic plan for extending general knowledge of the 
enormous areas within the Antarctic Circle. 

The year 1901 was rich in the field of proposed dis- 

240 




CAPT. R. F. SCOTT, R.N., C.V.O. 



Captam Scott's Explorations 241 

covery. Germany, England and Sweden organized well 
equipped expeditions to be sent to several points of 
vantage from which vast tracts of uncharted and hith- 
erto unmapped coasts were to be carefully surveyed and 
investigated. 

England was given the task of investigating areas 
south of the Pacific; Germany was to perform similar 
labors in the tracts south of the Indian Ocean; and 
Sweden had as its field of labor, lands and seas lying 
south of South America and the Atlantic Ocean. 

The British National Antarctic expedition was organ- 
ized by a joint committee of the Royal Society and the 
Royal Geographical Society, but mainly through the 
masterful personality and unremitting exertions of Sir 
Clements Markham. 

The expenses were partly defrayed by the government, 
and the rest principally by the generosity of Mr. L. W. 
Longstaff, who provided £30,000, the Royal Geographi- 
cal Society and Mr. A. C. Harmsworth (afterwards Lord 
Northcliffe). 

A wooden ship named the '^ Discovery," of 1700 tons 
displacement, was especially constructed for ice naviga- 
tion, at Dundee ; she was made non-magnetic amidships 
for the purpose of securing greater accuracy of mag- 
netic observations. 

The expedition sailed under the leadership of Com- 
mander R. F. Scott, R. N., with especially efficient offi- 
cers and crew, including second in command Lieutenant 
Albert Armitage, R. N. R., Lieutenants Royds and 
Barne, R. N., Lieutenant Ernest Shackleton, R. N. R., 
and Engineer Lieutenant Skelton, R. N. 

Captain Scott had wisely succeeded in getting a crew 
composed almost entirely of sailors of the Royal Navy. 



242 The Seventh Continent 

The scientific staff included several able men who had 
already passed seasons in the Arctic or Antarctic and 
were well used to the trying conditions under which their 
labors must necessarily be pursued. 

Dr. Koettlitz had shared with Lieutenant Armitage in 
the Jackson Harmsworth Arctic expedition and Mr. 
Louis Bernacchi had wintered at Cape Adare as a mem- 
ber of the Borchgrevink expedition. 

The ''Discovery" left England August 5th, 1901, and 
took her Sooithern course into the Antarctic from New 
Zealand in December. On the 24th of that month, she 
encountered the ice at the Antarctic Circle and by the 
8th of January, 1902, had made her way through it into 
the open sea in 175° E. longitude. Pushing rapidly to 
Cape Crozier she skirted along the great ice barrier, 
verifying Borchgrevink 's discovery that it had receded 
30 miles farther south than in 1842. 

On the night of January 21st, the ''Discovery" had 
reached the middle of McMurdo Sound, "creeping 
slowly, very slowly," writes Scott, "through the pack 
ice, which appeared from the crow's nest to extend in- 
definitely ahead. But a few miles separated us from the 
spot where we were ultimately to take up our winter 
quarters, and as we got to know this scene so well it is 
interesting to recall some extracts from what I wrote 
when first we gazed on it: 

' ' To the right is a lofty range of mountains with one 
very high peak far inland, and to the south a peculiar 
conical mountain, seemingly ending the coast in this 
direction ; on the left is Mount Erebus, its foot hills, and 
a glimpse of Mount Terror. The Parry mountains can- 
not be seen ahead of us. In the far distance there is a 
small patch like a distant island. Ross could not have 



Captain Scott's Explorations 243 

seen these patches, and a remnant of hope remains that 
we are heading for a strait, and not a bay. 

**This was written shortly after four, and at eight I 
added: As we drove slowly southward the apparent 
islands ahead broadened out, and there was no longer 
a doubt as to their being connected to form the end of 
the bay. But it is highly satisfactory to note that there 
are no mountains in the background, and that so far 
as the eye can see there must be a plain stretching di- 
rectly south. . . . We now see that if fortune allows us 
to winter in either of the two harbours we have found, 
we shall have good prospect of getting to the south. . . . 
In this manner the coast line to the south for nearly 40° 
is suggested by five dark rock patches and their con- 
necting snow slopes, this space being flanked on the right 
by the conical hill and on the left by a spur of Erebus, 
which appears to form a sharp headland. It was easy 
afterwards to recognize each point here noticed when, 
actually situated at the 'spur of Erebus,' we named 
the conical mountain after our ship and the high west- 
ern mountains in honour of the Koyal Society, but it is 
curious to think that at this time I should have been 
prepared to affirm that continuous land ran from Erebus 
to the mainland. " 

It was now necessary for the *' Discovery" to change 
her course to the eastward as *'we thought," writes Scott, 
* ' we knew as much of this region as our heavy expendi- 
ture of coal in the pack ice would justify us in finding 
out, and as before we lay the great unsolved problem 
of the barrier and of what lay beyond it. ' ' 

Skirting the barrier Scott found, on January 23rd, 
a point where its edge did not exceed sixty or seventy 
feet high. From the crow's nest they could see for a 



244 The Seventh Continent 

long distance to the S.W. 

**It was on looking in this direction," writes Scott, 
''but from a greater distance, that Ross thought he dis- 
tinctly saw a high range of mountains running to the 
south from Mount Terror. He described them as 
'probably higher than anything we have yet seen,' and 
named them the Parry Mountains. It will be remem- 
bered that when in McMurdo Sound, I had some doubt 
as to these mountains, and it is therefore of interest to 
note the entry made in my diary on this occasion: 
'Over the barrier and to the S.W. could be seen some 
small or apparently small hills, showing bare rock 
patches, but nothing could be seen of the Parry Moun- 
tains, and judging by our position two days ago we 
seem to have been viewing the hills which form or are 
close to the limits of McMurdo Bay. . . . The southern 
slope of Erebus can be distinctly seen. ... There seems 
every probability of getting over this slope, on to the 
ice plain if we winter west. ' Already there was a strong 
case against the Parry Mountains, and later we knew 
with absolute certainty that they did not exist; it is 
difficult to understand what can have led such a cautious 
and trustworthy observer as Ross to make such an error. 
I am inclined to think that in exaggerating the height 
of the barrier in this region, he was led to suppose that 
anything seen over it at a distance must necessarily be 
of very great altitude ; but, whatever the cause, the fact 
shows again how deceptive appearances may be and how 
easily errors may arise. In fact, as I have said before, 
one cannot always afford to trust the evidence of one's 
own eyes." 

Captain Scott now eagerly looked for the "appear- 
ance of land" to the east described by Ross and on Jan- 



Captain Scott's Explorations 245 

uary 30th, 1902, he had the satisfaction of discovering 
this new land to which he gave the name King Edward's 
Land. 

' ' It is curious to reflect now on the steps which led us 
to the discovery of King Edward's Land," he writes, 
' ' and the chain of evidence which came to us before the 
actual land itself was seen; at first there had been 
the shallow soundings, and the sight of gently rising 
snow slopes, of which, in the nature of things, one is 
obliged to retain a doubt ; then the steeper broken slopes 
of snow, giving a contrast to convey a surer evidence to 
the eye ; and, finally, the indubitable land itself, but 
even then surrounded with such mystery as to leave us 
far from complete satisfaction with our discovery. As 
we continued our course to the N.E. we held close along 
the fast ice which prevented us from approaching to 
the land. The weather was still dull and overcast, but 
we could see that the fast ice on our right was no longer 
plain sea-ice; at the edge it stood seven or eight feet 
above the water, and seemed to rise to fifteen feet or 
more on the slope of the cornice that overhung the edge, 
after which the surface ran back on the level for many 
miles. ' ' 

Captain Scott made an ascent in a captive balloon from 
the barrier ; from an altitude of about 800 feet the nature 
of the barrier surface to the south could be well seen. 

''I had expected to see a continuous level plain," he 
writes, "but to my surprise found that the plain con- 
tinued in a series of long undulations running approxi- 
mately east and west, or parallel to the barrier edge; 
the first two undulations could be distinctly seen, each 
wave occupying a space of two or three miles, but be- 
yond that, the existence of further waves was only indi- 



246 The Seventh Continent 

cated by alternate light and shadow, growing fainter in 
the distance. In the far south a bank of cloud had all 
the appearance of high land, but such indications are 
now too well known not to be received with caution, and 
even as I looked through my glasses, faint changes in 
outline were perceptible. Far over the snow expanse a 
small black dot represented our sledge party ; they must 
have been nearly eight miles away, and their visibility 
shows how easily a contrast can be seen on the monoto- 
nous grey of the snow. ' ' 

The ''Discovery" now returned to McMurdo Bay and 
winter quarters were established in 77° 49' S., 166° E. 
Huts were built and the routine of life in Antarctica was 
begun in earnest. 

One of the most important discoveries made early in 
the season was the fact that Mounts Erebus and Terror 
were on an island and McMurdo Bay was in reality not 
a "bay" but a sound. 

From this base as long as light lasted sledge journeys 
were undertaken; with the passing of the sun and the 
advent of the Antarctic night these had to be deferred 
until spring. 

''The following description of our daily life on 
board," writes Scott, "is contained in my diary of the 
early months of our first winter: 

"The first task of the day to fetch the ice for the 
daily consumption of water for cooking, drinking, and 
washing. In the latter respect we begin to realize that 
many circumstances are against habits of excessive clean- 
liness, but although we use water very sparingly, an 
astonishing amount of washing is done with it, and at 
present the fashion is for all to have a bath once a week. 
To fetch the ice in the morning a party of men are 



C apt win Scott's Explorations 247 

roused out somewhat earlier than their comrades, and 
dressing themselves according to the weather, they pro- 
ceed to the ice quarry with a heavy sledge specially 
fitted for the work. The harder and bluer the ice, the 
better it is adapted for melting and the less fuel is re- 
quired to melt it ; had we been obliged to use snow, either 
hard or soft, the daily task would have been much heav- 
ier ; but by good fortune we have a very solid icy slope 
on the land not more than 200 yards from the ship, and 
here we have made our quarry/ For two years we dug 
in an area no greater than twenty yards across, and yet 
at the end of that time, when we must have removed 
many tons of ice, we scarcely seemed to have scratched 
the surface of the slope: such are the puny efforts of 
man! 

'*A quarter of an hour of hard delving with pick and 
shovel each morning is sufficient to supply our daily 
needs; the sledge loaded with ice-blocks, is towed back 
to the ship, and the blocks are then carried on board 
and placed in a convenient storage close to the main 
hatchway. The pile thus made is kept well in advance 
of our needs in preparation for spells of bad weather 
when digging may be impossible. Long before the depar- 
ture of the ice-diggers, the cook's mate has been astir 
with the galley fire alight and the coppers and ice melt- 
ers filled so that by 8:30 the men's breakfast is pre- 
pared. By this time all hammocks except those of the 
night watchmen are lashed up and stowed away, and the 
linoleum covered mess desk has been washed and cleared 
up. Breakfast is a very simple meal, and consists al- 
ways of a large bowl of porridge with bread and but- 
ter or marmalade or jam. For a long time hash or 
stew was prepared, but as appetites fell off with our 



248 The Seventh Continent 

comparatively confined life this was rarely touched, and 
is now practically discontinued ; on the two mornings of 
the week when seal's liver replaces the more ordinary 
meat, however, there is no such abstinence; every one 
partakes of this excellent dish and wishes heartily that 
the seal was possessed of more than one liver. 

"After breakfast," he continues, ''the mess desk is 
again cleared up in preparation for prayers at 9:15, 
after which the men are assembled and told off for the 
work of the day, which is arranged as far as possible 
so that each man gets his fair share of the outside tasks. 
I do not remember a time when there was not a great 
amount of work to be done. During the latter part of 
the first winter, and throughout the whole of the second, 
a large party were constantly employed on our sledging 
outfit, making or repairing sleeping bags, sledges, tents, 
cookers, or other details of equipment. Out of doors 
there was generally some work in the digging line, 
either piling snow around the ship or the huts, or dig- 
ging out various objects which had become buried, or 
making holes in the sea-ice for fish traps or freeing the 
entrance and the paths to and from the huts, or many 
other lighter tasks. 

''Dinner for the men is at one. This varies with the 
day, but consists always of soup, seal or tinned meat, 
and either jam or fruit tart. After dinner the rum is 
served out in accordance with naval custom. Smoking 
has been allowed on the mess-deck and at all times since 
we entered winter quarters. 

"After two in the afternoon the men return to work 
until five. . . . Supper is at five ; a few with good appe- 
tites make up dishes out of what remains of the tinned 
meats or seal left over from dinner, but many confine 



Captain Scott's Explorations 249 

themselves to bread and butter and tea, with perhaps 
some jam or cheese. Those men who have not been em- 
ployed outside during the day take their exercise after 
supper; there is no constraint, but luckily the men are 
intelligent enough to appreciate the advantage of good 
health and the benefits of a daily walk. In the evening 
all the men are free, and a glimpse at the mess deck at 
such a time leaves the impression that the greatest com- 
fort and contentment reigns throughout." 

The fare of the officers' mess was but slightly dif- 
ferent from that of the men, though the hours varied- 
and the heartiest meal of the day was taken at 6 p. m. 

The work of the various officers was so distinct and 
kept them so busily employed that they seldom met ex- 
cept at meal hours and in the evenings when debates 
and games formed the chief pastime. 

The record of these winter months emphasized the 
numerous blizzards and snow storms characteristic of 
this region. By the first week in August, active prep- 
arations were being pushed rapidly forward in antici- 
pation of the spring sledge journeys. 

On August 12th, 1902, Scott records "another bliz- 
zard, so thick that one cannot see one's hand before 
one's face. ... No one goes out on these occasions; the 
drifting snow has very much the effect of a sand blast 
— it positively pricks the skin and brings frost bites with 
alarming rapidity. The dogs, whose kennels were likely 
to be drifted up, were brought on board early in the 
storm; they are generally rather sad and subdued on 
such occasions ; and can be safely huddled together with- 
out fear of a fight, always excepting the redoubtable 
* Nigger,' who is given a comer to himself." 

** There is a world of character in these animals of 



250 The Seventh Continent 

ours, ' ' he writes farther on. ' ' One of the greatest pities 
is that they cannot be made to follow or to obey a word 
of command unless they are in harness. They are great 
losers by it in missing many a walk. To lead them con- 
tinually about on a string is very trying, as they pull 
hard the whole time, and it is odds that the dog rather 
than the man directs the course of the walk; at other 
times they will be particularly meek and ingratiating, 
trotting alongside and pressing their noses into one 's 
mit, all in the most companionable spirit, until one 
rashly slips the leash, when in a moment they are off 
on their own devices, and are seen no more until a wild 
hubbub at the kennels signifies their return, and some 
one has to rush out to prevent a fight. 

*'The sport they most dearly love is to worry a seal. 
The hunting instinct is paramount; the most listless, 
weary, bored-looking dog or team of dogs has only to 
catch sight of the black dots far off over the snow which 
signify the presence of seals to become electrified into 
a state of wild excitement. If a person has a single 
animal on leash, the chances are that he is caught un- 
prepared and the next moment finds himself without a 
dog or being dragged violently along on his stomach; 
if he is with a team harnessed to a heavy sledge, a load 
which a moment before appeared to be taking all heart 
out of the animals, becomes the merest bagatelle, and he 
is lucky if he has time to add his own weight and so 
prevent himself from being left behind. '' 

The long absent sun was due to reappear August 21st, 
but the day was one of whirling snow squalls and no 
sight of it was possible. The following day the members 
of the Expedition were amply rewarded for their long 
wait as the sky was gloriously clear, * ' and in its vaulted 



Captcdn Scott ^s Explorations 251 

arch the strong returning light of day hid all except 
the brightest stars, and these wore but a pale semblance 
of their winter aspect." The temperature was up to 
5° and the officers in high spirits started to mount th€ 
hill slopes to have a good look at their ''long absent 
friend." 

The preparations for the spring sledge journeys had 
required an immense amount of time and foresight. 
The requirements for sledging in the Antarctic varied 
materially from that of the North and as Captain Scott 
expressed it, "it is just to consider all our sledge jour- 
neys as pioneer efforts." 

'*In regard to climate," he writes, ''the conditions in 
the South are more severe than those in the North ; the 
spring temperatures are lower, and the summer tempera- 
tures far lower. The early spring travellers in the 
North have rarely recorded a temperature below — 50°, 
whereas with our early parties the thermometer fre- 
quently fell below — 60°, and at the lowest stood at 
— 68° ; in the Arctic summer travellers have experienced 
temperatures of +40° and even +50°, whilst in the 
height of our Southern summer the thermometer rarely 
rose above freezing point, even in the great snow plains 
adjacent to the sea-level; and when we were forced to 
explore at great altitudes, we were fortunate if it 
showed higher than — 10° at this season. 

*'The effect of these generally low temperatures was 
naturally to increase the hardship to which the sledge 
travellers were exposed, and of which so much has been 
written, whilst it is doubtful whether we could have so 
well withstood this greater intensity of cold had we 
not been possessed of those improvements to the sledg- 
ing outfit which have been added in the years that have 



252 The Seventh Continent 

elapsed since the great Bnglisli journeys of 1850. But 
the low summer temperature has one advantage, although 
we were not fated to gain greatly by it, in that the 
snowy surface of the sea-ice never gets into that sodden, 
slushy condition which obtains in the latter part of 
the Northern summer, and which prevents sledging op- 
erations being undertaken after the month of June in 
the Arctic Regions. Except in a few places where dust 
or grit has been blown on to it, the surface of the South- 
ern sea-ice remains hard throughout the summer; and 
as there are many places where it does not break up until 
the latter part of February, it is quite possible to con- 
ceive sledging being carried on over its surface until 
that month, which corresponds with the Northern Aug- 
ust. 

* ' A circumstance, however, ' ' he continues, ' ' that is far 
more objectionable to the Southern traveller than the 
extremity of temperature is the frequency of wind. It 
is perhaps too broad a generalization to say that Arctic 
journeys have usually been made under fine weather 
conditions, but few, if any, Arctic travellers have been 
subjected to the distressing frequency of blizzards and 
strong winds that added so much to our discomfort in 
the South. 

' ' The geographical difference between the work of the 
Northern and Southern sledge traveller is as great as 
the climate, if not greater. ... To the South, it will 
be seen that everywhere the explorer's ship is brought 
up by solid land or by some mighty wall resembling that 
of the Great Ice Barrier ; to pass beyond his ship there- 
fore, the explorer must either travel over land or over 
great and ancient snow-fields which possess a similar 
surface. We have, therefore, this great geographical 



Captain Scott ^s Explorations 253 

difference between the North and the South ; the greater 
part of Northern travelling has been and will be done 
on sea-ice, but the greater part of Southern travelling 
has been and will be done over land surfaces, or what in 
this respect are their equivalents. 

"On travelling over the Great Barrier to the South, 
I was constantly impressed by recognizing the diffi- 
culties of surface so graphically described by Nansen in 
his First Crossing of Greenland ; and I came to the con- 
clusion that the conditions were very similar. But I was 
still more impressed by the obvious impossibility of 
dragging a sledge over such a surface at the rate main- 
tained by the old English travellers on the Northern 
sea-ice. A general comparison of the sledging condi- 
tions met with in the North and in the South CEUinot 
be said, therefore, to be in favour of the latter, and it 
must be conceded that the Antarctic sledge traveller 
journeys under considerable relative disadvantage; he 
has to meet severer climatic conditions, he has to pull 
his sledges over heavier surfaces, and he is not likely 
to encounter fewer obstacles in his path. Hence it is 
probable that the distances recorded by the Northern 
travellers will never be exceeded in the South.'' 

The type of sledge preferred by Captain Scott was the 
11-foot ski runner sledge — to be hauled by men or dogs. 
He advises having different weight sledges, strong heavy 
ones being necessary for ordinary work around head- 
quarters, and lighter travelling sledges for rapid jour- 
neys. 

The importance of rations cannot be overestimated for 
upon the food supply necessarily depends the health 
and success of the party. Those carried by Scott in- 
cluded biscuit, oatmeal, pemmican, red ration, Plasmon^ 



254 The Seventh Continent 

pea flcmr, cheese, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, supplemented 
with tea, onion powder and a small allowance of pepper 
and salt. 

The Nansen cooker, constructed of aluminum, and the 
Primus Lamp were found eminently satisfactory. 
With this apparatus boiling water could be made from 
snow in twelve minutes, and a simple one-course meal 
could be prepared in twenty, a great comfort to the cold 
and weary traveller on the ice fields. Besides the cook- 
ing outfit, a shelter tent, sleeping bags with night gear, 
sleeping jackets, crampon, spare finneskoes, spades, 
medicine bag, ice axes, instruments and camera, alpine 
rope, repair and tool bags, sounding line, tape, etc., and 
ski boots and ski, completed the sledging outfit. Mis- 
cellaneous articles were carried about the person, and of 
course goggles were worn continuously. 

The clothing of the men consisted of a thick suit of 
underclothing, one or two flannel shirts, a jersey, a pair 
of pilot cloth breeches and a pyjama jacket; an over- 
suit of thin water tight gabardine was worn as a pro- 
tection against the piercing winds. Fur or felt mits 
over long woolen half-mits were worn. The reindeer 
fur Norwegian finnesko was found the most satisfactory 
footgear. Finally, an important feature was each man 's 
harness by which the sledge was pulled, made of a broad 
band of webbing passing round his waist and supported 
by braces over his shoulders. The two ends of the band 
were joined in an iron ring to which a rope could be 
attached to the sledge or trace. 

The value and importance of dogs in Arctic or Ant- 
arctic sledge journeys is a matter of common knowledge. 

The trials of sledging in the early spring have been 
hinted at, but though the long day might be passed in 



Captcdn Scott's Explorations 255 

one monotonous grind against the piercing winds, the 
nights spent in sleeping bags under shelter of the tent 
were anything but restful. With the thermometer at 
— 40° members of these sledging parties would rarely 
be conscious of sleeping, ' ' certainly not of tener than one 
night in three," says Scott, "can we realize that sev- 
eral hours have passed in oblivion, and these seem only 
to be bought at the price of extreme exhaustion. With 
the temperature at — 48° we can make a shrewd guess 
as to the sort of night that is before us. The first half 
hour is spent in constant shifting and turning as each 
inmate of the bag tries to make the best of his hard mat- 
tress or to draw the equally hard covering closer about 
him. There is a desultory muffled conversation broken 
by the chattering of teeth. Suddenly the bag begins 
to vibrate, and we know that some one has got the 
shivers. It is very contagious, this shivering, and parox- 
ysm after paroxysm passes through the whole party. 
We do not try to check it; the violent shaking has a 
decidedly warming effect, besides it is a necessary part 
of the programme, and must be got through before we 
can hope for sleep. Presently we hear our neighbor 
marking time, and we rather unnecessarily ask him if 
his feet are cold; he explains their exact state in the 
most forcible language at his command. 

*'A11 this time we are mentally surveying our own re- 
cumbent figure and wondering whether the parts that 
feel so cold are really properly covered or whether our 
garments have got rucked up in the struggle for ease. 
Our hands are tucked away in some complicated fash- 
ion that experience has commended ; they are useless for 
exploring. Besides, we know how far imagination can 
lead one. Our thoughts, taking flying journeys round 



256 The Seventh Continent 

the world, flit past the tropics to log wood firesides, but 
they stop nowhere until they have raced back to present 
discomfort. The last squirm brought the wind-guard 
off our helmet across our face. It is crusted with ice 
of the day's march; this is now gently thawing, and 
presently a drop trickles down our nose. Our thoughts 
become fixed on that drop. It is very irritating; we 
long to wipe it away, but that means taking out one 
hand, disarranging the whole scheme of defence against 
the cold. We are debating the question when a second 
drop descends. Flesh and blood cannot stand this ; out 
comes our hand, and for the next quarter of an hour, 
we are pitching and tossing about to try to regain the 
old position. It is all very small, very trivial ; yet there 
are probably few who have not passed sufficiently rest- 
less nights to appreciate how these trivialities weigh on 
such an occasion, and here we have in their most con- 
crete form the greater part of those elements which go 
to disturb the rest of man. 

*'We start to count those imaginary sheep jumping 
over their imaginary hurdles for the hundredth time 
as the shivering lessens. The last half hour has brought 
a change ; we are no longer encased with ice. There are 
signs of a thaw and below the bag is less rocky; it is 
becoming damp and coldly clammy, but it covers us bet- 
ter. There is just a suspicion of somnolence, when 
suddenly the whole bag is shaken violently and we hear 
the most harrowing groans. It is only another attack of 
the cramp, an enemy that is never far away. We try 
to sympathise with the victim a^ we start the sheep 
jumping afresh. And so this wearisome night passes 
on, with its round of trivial detail and its complete ab- 
sence of peace and comfort, It was the same last night. 



Captain Scott ^s Explorations 257 

and it will be the same to-morrow. It is not an exag- 
geration to say that we dreaded these nights, yet it is 
worthy of record that none passed without a jest; the 
more cheerless and uncomfortable the conditions became, 
the more light-hearted grew the men. 

''I have mentioned only some of their ills," he con- 
tinues. "Besides cramp, cold feet, and general discom- 
fort, many were attacked by rheumatism; later, snow 
blindness intervened. Another great source of trouble 
was indigestion and heartburn. I, with several others, 
had never known this ailment under ordinary condi- 
tions, but during the earlier sledging days it attacked 
us most fiercely. Also, of course, frost-bites were com- 
mon, with painfully blistered faces and hands ; feet were 
likewise blistered on the long, fatiguing marches." 

The success of the early spring journeys was some- 
what dampened by the appearance of scurvy in a mild 
form, but this was checked by a change of diet, and the 
work of the expedition proceeded with enthusiasm. De- 
pots of provisions were carried forward and established 
at regular intervals, in anticipation of the great journey 
which Scott had planned to the South. A reconnais- 
sance had somewhat modified his plans and he decided 
that with the limited number of depots it was found 
practical to establish, the strength of his advance would 
depend upha the supporting party which should accom- 
pany him as far as possible en route. 

The supporting party, consisting of Mr. Barne with 
eleven men, preceded the main party by two days, as it 
was reasoned the dog teams would soon overtake the 
men. All was in readiness by the 2nd of November, 
1902, and this day saw the departure southward of Cap- 
tain Scott, Lieutenant Shackleton and Dr, E, A, Wil- 



258 The Seventh Continent 

son. The dog sledges travelled at a rapid gait over 
the surface of the Great Barrier and within sight of a 
range of new mountains running parallel to their track 
on the west. 

With the advance, the ice conditions grew more and 
more difficult for travelling, the surface was rough and 
there were many crevasses, the frequent blizzards re- 
tarded their advance and when travelling became at all 
practical it was found necessary to bring the heavy 
sledges forward in relays, thereby making it necessary 
to march three miles for every mile advanced to the 
south. The dogs began to show the result of strain and 
insufficient food and one by one were obliged to be killed 
and fed to the rest. On December 30th the explorers 
had reached 82° 17' South. 

They had now been on the march 59 days and covered 
a distance of 380 miles. With insufficient food ; all suf- 
fering more or less from snow blindness, and Shackle- 
ton showing decided symptoms of scurvy, this intrepid 
trio could advance no further. The great mountain 
peaks seen in the distance were named Mt. Markham, 
15,000 feet in height, and Mt. Longstaff, 9,700 feet high 
in honor of the promoters of the expedition. 

On January 1st, 1903, Scott writes : 

''We have opened the new year with a march which 
is likely to be a sample of those which will follow for 
many a day to come. The state of our dog team is now 
quite pitiable; with a very few exceptions they cannot 
pretend to pull; at the start of the march some have 
to be lifted on to their feet and held up for a minute 
or two before their limbs become stiff enough to sup- 
port them. Poor 'Spud' fell in his tracks to-day; we 
carried him for a long way on the sledge, and then tried 



Captain Scott ^s Explorations 259 

him once more, but he fell again, and had to be carried 
for the rest of the journey tucked away inside the can- 
vas tent. Towards the end of our day's march it has 
always been possible to get a semblance of spirit into 
our poor animals by saying 'Up for supper.' They 
learnt early what the words meant, and it has generally 
been 'Spud' who gave the first responsive whimper. 
This afternoon it was most pathetic; the cheering shout 
for the last half mile was raised as usual, but there was 
no response, until suddenly from the interior of the 
sledge-tank came the muffled ghost of a whimper. It 
was ' Spud 's ' last effort ; on halting we carried him back 
to his place, but in an hour he was dead." 

On the 3rd he writes: 

''We are not finding our homeward march so easy as 
we expected, and we are not clearing a large margin 
over the distances which are actually necessary for each 
day; it is plain that if there are blizzards now we must 
go on right through them. . . . The dogs have not pulled 
throughout the day — ^we do not expect it of them now 
— and this afternoon Shackleton was ahead dragging on 
those who could not walk. To walk eight or nine miles 
in a day does not sound much of a task for even a tired 
dog, yet it is too much for ours, and they are dropping 
daily." 

"When a decree has gone forth against any poor 
wretch it has been our custom to lead him some way 
to the rear of the sledges and there, of course, to put 
an end to him as painlessly as possible. As the intended 
victim has been led away, the rest of the team have 
known at once what is going to happen, and as far as 
their feeble state has allowed they have raised the same 
chorus of barks as they used to do when they knew that 



260 The Seventh Continent 

we were going to fetch their food. Of course the cause 
is precisely the same; they know in some way that this 
means food. But the astonishing fact is that the victim 
himself has never known; he has always followed will- 
ingly with his tail wagging; evidently under the im- 
pression that he is going to be taken to the place where 
food comes from, nor, until the last, has he ever shown 
the least suspicion of his end. Thus we have seen ani- 
mals howling with joy at seeing his comrade led to the 
slaughter, and the next night going on the same road 
himself with every sign of pleasure; it has a distinctly 
pathetic side, but it is good to know clearly that they 
have not the intelligence to anticipate their fate." 

On January 13, they reached one of the depots, a for- 
tunate event, for the health of the party was distinctly 
unsatisfactory. All three showed symptoms of scurvy 
and Shackleton was suffering greatly from shortness of 
breath, and in fits of coughing he was spitting blood — 
his condition was highly alarming. 

The journey was kept up in the face of an overcast 
sky and the endless vista of grey ahead. These ' ' blind ' ' 
marches were particularly tryiiig as there was absolutely 
no point upon which to fix the eye to gage distance. 

On January 20th the party had reached 79° 51' S., 
and the ship was not reached until February 3rd, 1903, 
after an absence of ninety-three days — during which 
time the party had covered 960 statute miles. 

During the absence of Captain Scott, Armitage and 
Skelton had journeyed a distance of 130 miles and had 
ascended by way of a glacier the vast snow-covered 
plateau beyond the granite summits of the western 
mountains and reached an elevation of 9,000 feet. The 
scientists had taken many shorter journeys and brought 




BRITISH ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION 

Commander Evans in Center, Capt. Scott at Right 



Captain Scott's Explorations 261 

back a fund of information in their respective fields. 

The great event of this period had been the advent 
of the relief ship ' ' Morning. ' ' The voyage South of this 
little ship had been full of adventure and she had val- 
iantly forced her way through the heavy ice pack. 

Shackleton's condition was such that his return to 
England was deemed necessary and he sailed homeward 
on her March the third, Lieutenant Murdock, R.N., tak- 
ing his place on the ''Discovery.'' 

Preparations for a second winter in the Antarctic 
were not long delayed and to the ship 's provisions were 
added 116 seals, 551 skuas and 20 sheep, which were de- 
signed to add fresh meat to the bill of fare for a period 
of 275 days. A great luxury enjoyed during this sec- 
ond winter of darkness was the use of acetylene gas for 
the first time. This artificial light, by which the dark 
months were cheered seemed to have a beneficial effect 
on the health and spirits of the party, and they emerged 
in the spring in excellent general health. 

Captain Scott carried out in the spring of 1903-1904 
his brilliant plan for the great journey on the western 
plateau. Unaccompanied by dogs he started October 
26th and by the 30th of November had reached an alti- 
tude of 9,000 feet on the featureless plateau at a dis- 
tance of 300 miles west of the ship. On that date he 
writes : 

' ' Here, then, to-night we have reached the end of our 
tether, and all we have done is to show the immensity of 
this vast plain. The scene about us is the same as we 
have seen for many a day, and shall see for many a day 
to come — a scene so wildly and awfully desolate that it 
cannot fail to impress one with gloomy thoughts. But, 
after all, it is not what we see that inspires awe, but 



262 The Seventh Continent 

the knowledge of what lies beyond our view. We see 
only a few miles of ruffled snow bounded by a vague 
wavy horizon, but we know that beyond that horizon are 
hundreds, and even thousands of miles which can offer 
no change to the weary eye, while on the vast expanse 
that one's mind conceives one knows there is neither tree 
nor shrub, nor any living thing, nor even inanimate 
rock — ^nothing but this terrible, limitless expanse of 
snow. It has been so for countless years, and we, little 
human insects, have started to crawl over this awful 
desert, and are now bent on crawling back again. Could 
anything be more terrible than this silent, wind-swept 
immensity when one thinks such thoughts?" 

The ship was reached on December 5th and one month 
later the "Terra Nova," a fine whaling ship, in company 
with the ' ' Morning, ' ' was sent by the Admiralty and ar- 
rived with orders to Captain Scott to abandon the ' ' Dis- 
covery" and return at once. 

The thought of abandoning his ship was a severe blow 
to Captain Scott, but nevertheless he proceeded to fol- 
low instructions, and stores and collections were rapidly 
transferred to the relief ships. 

On February 16th, 1904, she was fortunately released 
from the ice, and to his great satisfaction he was able 
to bring her safely home to port. 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE GERMAN EXPEDITION 

THE German Expedition, co-operating with the 
British Expedition with regards to simultaneous 
scientific observations, was under the auspices of 
the Emperor of Germany, and the result of many years 
persistent efforts on the part of Professor Neumayer. 
The leader of this expedition was Professor Erich von 
Drygalski, and the scientific staff included Professor 
von Hoffen as naturalist, Dr. Emil Philippi as geologist, 
and Dr. Frederick Bidlingmaier as meteorologist and 
magnetician. 

They sailed in 1901 in the ''Gauss" in command of 
Captain Hans Ruser, of the Hamburg-American Line. 
They visited the Crozet Islands, the MacDonald group, 
and established a scientific station on Kerguelen Land. 
This was forced to be abandoned on account of serious 
illness of members of the party. 

The * ' Gauss ' * then made two unsuccessful attempts to 
get south. She crossed the parallel of 60° S. in 92° E. 
early in February, 1902, and got within 60 miles of the 
charted position of Wilke's Termination Land, where a 
depth of 1730 fathoms was found, thus establishing the 
fact of the non-existence of Termination Land in the po- 
sition hitherto assigned to it. 

It now became necessary to turn southwest and on 
February 21st, 1902, ice clad land was sighted in the 

263 



264 The Seventh Continent 

southern horizon. A valiant effort was made to skirt 
the coast westward toward Kemp Land, but abruptly 
ended within twenty-four hours by the besetment of the 
vessel, from which she was not released for a period 
of a year. Land of considerable extent was seen to the 
south and named Kaiser Wilhelm II. Land, its most 
prominent feature being a hill of bare black rock with 
an elevation of about 1,000 feet, situated in 67° S. 90° 
E. to which the name of Gaussberg was given. 

Sledge journeys were carried forward under the usual 
trying conditions of prolonged blizzards and piercing 
cold. The neighborhood for a distance of forty-six 
miles and Kaiser Wilhelm II. Land were carefully ex- 
plored. A balloon ascension was undertaken by Dry- 
galski, who reported seeing large areas of ice-clad land 
extending along the Antarctic Circle from 87° E. to 
94° E., and broadening south of the circle. 

The view obtained by Drygalski of the inland ice * * sug- 
gested the notion of boundless space and . . . the winds 
which blew from the inland ice by their Fohn properties 
pointed at a far-reaching uniformly ice-capped hinter- 
land"; from which he concludes, **He has discovered a 
new land and cleared up a contested question regarding 
the Antarctic continent, for over ten degrees of longi- 
tude, certainly for about half of the debated region be- 
tween Knox and Kemp Lands ; " he adds, * ' that we lived 
on the fringe of the South-polar continent, conviction 
will be afforded by the climate. The easterly Fohn like 
gales impart to the South-polar region its character and 
its limits; by their frequency and uniformity they re- 
veal the immensity and homogeneous nature of these 
Antarctic Lands, 

During February, 1903, the *' Gauss" was freed from 



The German Expedition 265 

the ice. Drygalski made every effort to thread the maze 
of floes to the eastward and the south, but though a 
month was spent in this endeavor, he could reach no 
higher altitude than 80° E. before seeking the open sea. 

The scientific data obtained by this expedition was val- 
uable and extensive, describing the abrupt fall of the 
land to a deep sea, its structural rocks being crystalline 
in character, with molten gneisses in the lava of its 
volcanic formations. The scant vegetation of this in- 
hospitable coast consisted of sparse mosses and lichens. 

The Swedish South Polar Expedition, which left 
Gothenburg October 16th, 1901, in the ship ** Antarctic ' ^ 
under the leadership of Dr. N. Otto O. Nordenskjold, 
nephew of the great Arctic explorer and discoverer of 
the North-East Passage, had as its fields of labor the 
lands and seas lying to the south of South America and 
the Atlantic Ocean. Dr. Nordenskjold, through whose 
personal and unremitting efforts this expedition had 
originated and been organized, conceived the plan to sail 
for the South Shetlands, proceed thence to the east coast 
of the unknown stretch of land that lies south of these 
islands ; endeavor to penetrate southward as far as pos- 
sible, land the wintering-party, consisting of the leader 
and six others, and then send the vessel to the neigh- 
borhood of the Falkland Islands, Tierra del Fuego and 
South Georgia, where scientific work would continue 
during the winter. In the spring the ship would again 
go south and pick up the wintering-party and then re- 
turn to Sweden in May, 1903. This plan had to be es- 
sentially modified owing to the severity of the Antarc- 
tic summer of 1902-03, the coldest and **as far as the 
ice-conditions are concerned, the worst that has hith- 
erto been experienced. The German Expedition at the 



266 The Seventh Continent 

very last moment had the greatest difficulty/* writes 
Nordenskjold, ''in extricating itself from the ice and 
sailing for home. The English Expedition did not suc- 
ceed in getting out of the ice and was obliged to remain 
there for another year. When the ''Antarctic" was on 
her way to bring off our wintering-party, it was soon 
discovered that it would be extremely difficult to pene- 
trate even to such a northerly point as the place where 
we had our station. A twofold effort to reach us was 
then made ; Dr. Anderson and two companions attempt- 
ing to reach us by travelling over the ice that covered 
and surrounded the land, while the vessel tried to force 
a way farther to the east. 

"Both attempts to reach us failed. The 'Antarctic' 
was nipped by the ice and sand, and the two relief par- 
ties had to spend the winter at two different points on 
the Erebus and Terror Gulf, unable to communicate 
with each other or with us." 

In January, 1902, the "Antarctic," in command of 
Captain C. A. Larsen, sighted the South Shetlands ; the 
vessel then swung to the west and steamed slowly past 
King George 's Island — and turned in the strait between 
Nelson Island and Robert Island, dropping anchor in 
Harmony Cove. 

Here Nordenskjold landed with companions for an 
examination of the surroundings. "We landed on an 
open, gravelly shore," he writes, "at the foot of a high 
mass of rock, and thus set foot for the first time on 
Antarctic Land." 

The land which the day before had seemed a wilder- 
ness of ice, was in reality swarming with life. "The 
whole shore," he writes, "was covered with large seals 
whose peculiar appearance awakened a desire within us 



The German Expedition 267 

to make their nearer acquaintance. They were grey- 
green in colour, with lighter spots, all belonged to the 
Weddell seals, those most commonly met with in this 
district. But there are, too, other forms of animal life, 
which so entirely arrest our attention that we have no 
eyes for anything else. The penguins, these wonderful 
creatures, birds that cannot fly, but can swim quite as 
well as fish ... it is only here in their rightful home 
amid the ice of the South Pole, that one learns to know 
in their full development, these, the most peculiar rep- 
resentatives of the Antarctic animal world. These 
strange creatures come to meet you far out in the wa- 
ter; no one, who has not seen them before can say at a 
distance what kind of animals they are. They come 
swimming in long rows, hundreds upon hundreds of 
them; one after another they fling their black, shining, 
spool-shaped bodies out of the water, to dive down again 
the next minute and, like fishes, continue their journey 
under the surface. At the sight of these flocks of pen- 
guins our thoughts at once turn to the shoals of fly-fish 
which we have so often beheld in the tropics ; that these 
are birds thus speeding onwards is the last thought that 
could come into our minds, if we did not now and then 
see one or two of them swimming through the water with 
little more than their round, black heads sticking up 
over the surface. In a certain sense it can be said of 
the penguin that it forms a link between birds and 
fishes, and so far occupies the same position as that 
held by the seal amongst mammals." 

When the party were on board once more, the ship 
set her course southward, passing new stretches of land. 
After passing Astrolabe Island the Louis Philippe came 
in view; they now examined the gulf called D'Urville 



268 The Seventh Continent 

Orleans Channel, lying between the mainland and Trin- 
ity Land. Exploring this channel it was found to go 
in a southerly direction and to divide Louis Philippe 
Land from Graham Land. 

Seals and penguins had given them a welcome on land, 
but in the hitherto unsailed waters through which they 
were now steaming, hundreds of whales belonging to a 
species resembling the humpback whale swam about the 
vessel. 

It was now clear the Louis Philippe Land was con- 
tinuous with Banco Land. 

Pursuing their course toward Cape Anna, and thence 
across the sound to Cape Ryswyck, they viewed Schol- 
laert Sound in the distance. A shore party visited Cape 
Rognemaurel, which is the eastern point at the entrance 
of Orleans Channel. 

Continuing their voyage, they skirted the coast of 
Louis Philippe Land, ** amidst a whole archipelago of 
rocky islets and submerged reefs, which taxed the at- 
tention of the captain in the highest degree. ' ^ 

On January 15th, they had a clear view of Joinville 
Island, Mount Bransfield could be seen lifting its * ' beau- 
tifully rounded cone high above the surrounding coun- 
try.'' 

In the vicinity of Paulet Island and Cape Seymour, 
the scientists secured in the trawling net a rich har- 
vest of marine life. 

Steering a course southwards across Erebus and Ter- 
ror Gulf, there was every indication of the near ap- 
proach to the ice. 

On November 16th the ''Antarctic" was off the north- 
ern point of Seymour Island, steaming through sparsely 
spread fragments of ice. Nordenskjold speaks of Sey- 








d^'"' -^^ 



c Ira ) 



m 







DR. N. OTTO G. NORDENSKJOLD 



The German Expedition , 269 

mour Island as one of the most remarkable places in the 
Antarctic regions. It was first seen by Ross, who con- 
cluded it was volcanic formation. Captain Larsen was 
the first man to ever land there, making two visits there, 
one in December, 1892, and another in November, 1893. 
It will be remembered that he carried home fossils con- 
sisting of petrified wood and mollusca, the first speci- 
mens of the kind ever found in Antarctic ice. 

It was at this place that Nordenskjold established a 
depot of supplies, well protected by a cairn and marked 
with a signal post. 

The ice conditions soon took on a formidable aspect, 
and where the "Antarctic" stood, the Great Barrier in- 
tercepted their progress. Within twenty-four hours she 
was forced to abandon her course, having reached her 
farthest south in latitude 10 to 15 minutes south of 66°. 

Geographically, the summer of 1901-1902 was the most 
prolific in discoveries. As already stated, Louis Philippe 
Land was found to be continuous with Danco Land. 
Gerlache Channel had proved to be a continuation of 
D 'Urville 's Orleans Channel. The similarity of the land 
examined from about latitude 63° S. to 65° S. to that 
of Victoria Land was singularly striking, both being des- 
olate and as heavily glaciated. 

A futile attempt was made to follow the ice to the 
east in the hope of finding an opening through which 
the ship might pass to the Weddell sea. The storms and 
ice barrier necessitated a return and on February 1st, 
the ''Antarctic" had reached 63° 30' South latitude and 
45° 7' West longitude. Winter quarters were estab- 
lished on Snow Hill Island in 64° 25' S. The ''Antarc- 
tic" then sailed to her winter labors and the little band 
of scientists — "deserted and alone" — began immediate 



270 The Seventh Continent 

preparations for their shelter and protection during the 
fast approaching winter. 

^' After having finished a thorough day's work of the 
normal eight-hours type," writes Nordenskjold, ** nail- 
ing and hammering on the walls and roof, I felt that I 
had the right to an afternoon's walk up to the hill top 
in order to take a survey of our kingdom and obtain 
some idea of the condition of the ice, and of the chances 
of the return of the vessel. My way lay up the steep 
ascent which I afterwards climbed so many times. "What 
masses of magnificent fossils lie scattered around! 
After having ascended the last step I find myself on the 
highest plateau, which has never before been trodden by 
human foot. There is very much here to attract one's 
attention, it is a very pattern-card of the rocks of the 
island, varied here and there by blocks of foreign stone 
whose presence in the place demands its own explana- 
tion. There is so much which could chain one to the 
spot, were it not for the wish to go further inland. The 
path leads along the edge of deep ravines ; mighty masses 
of rock rise above the surrounding land, sometimes re- 
sembling fortresses with walls, battlements and towers; 
sometimes putting on fantastic forms — gigantic sphinxes 
amid the loose mass of earth. I am tempted to carry the 
comparison further, for around me stretches a wilder- 
ness more terrible than Sahara. Nowhere is there a 
trace of vegetation ; not even the sand can lie in its place, 
for everything that can be carried away by the storms 
is gone, so that the ground consists either of a closely 
packed mass of stones or of naked rocks which have re- 
ceived their form by the action of the wind. 

' ' I go still further inland. To the south there extends 
before me an endless, slightly billowing plain of ice and 



The German Expedition 271 

snow. That is Snow Hill — 'the dome of snow' — after 
which I have called the whole island, although somewhat 
incongruously so, as it is not for the sake of the snow, 
but for that of the snow-free land here, that this island 
has been chosen as the place for our wintering station, 
thereby earning its title to remembrance by man in 
future times. I direct my steps to the place, for from 
thence I shall have an unobstructed view on both sides. 
Towards the east ray gaze flies across the boundless sea, 
which is full of ice so broken up that the vessel should 
be able to force a passage through it without difficulty. 
Neither is there much ice in Admiralty Sound, and it 
became evident that the hurried departure of the ship 
was somewhat unnecessaty, although that could not be 
known at the time. 

' ' I stood there amid the grandeur of the scenery, while 
the sun sank slowly behind the haughty, ice-covered 
crown of Mount Haddington, and gilded the ice-fields 
far away on the eastern horizon. No sound was to be 
heard around me, one could not be more alone, more 
isolated. This desert spot is to be, for a long time for- 
ward, home, everything, for me, for my companions! 
Here we shall stand face to face with Nature in its 
mightiest majesty, and, combatting with it, shall strive 
to make it reveal to us its many secrets." 

Excursions in the neighborhood were undertaken in 
March, which proved to be a month of unusually fine 
weather. As the days became shorter and shorter, these 
journeys became less practicable, though this recon- 
noitering had satisfactory results for the members of 
the land party had learned to a certainty that the so- 
called Admiralty Bay was in reality a sound and that 
Snow Hill, upon which they had established their win- 



272 The Seventh Continent 

ter station, was an island; thus they had ascertained 
the chief features of the physical geography of the re- 
gion immediately surrounding them. The situation of 
Snow Hill was sufficiently far north to avoid the dull 
monotony of the real polar night, for in mid-winter the 
sun remained for about four hours above the horizon. 

Each member of the expedition was zealously engaged 
in his special line of scientific research. 

''The most important of these," writes Nordenskjold, 
"were the magnetic and meteorological observations 
which had to be carried out in agreement with the in- 
ternational scheme of work. It was Bodman who had 
charge of these. In respect to magnetic observations, it 
is just the polar-tracts which are of the greatest interest, 
but the southern pole has hitherto been very little stud- 
ied. The most prominent scientific authorities have over 
and over again expressed the opinion that the absence 
of accurate investigations in the Antarctic regions ren- 
dered all real progress in respect to the theory of terres- 
trial magnetism quite impossible, and all attempts to 
determine for any length of time the position of the mag- 
netic powers on the surface quite unavailing, and such 
questions are, when they bear upon the variation of 
the compass, of the very greatest practical importance. 
The international scheme of work embraced observations 
concerning changes in declination, inclination, and mag- 
netic horizontal intensity. These observations were 
to be carried out by means of variation instruments on 
the 1st and 15th of each month, and should last the en- 
tire four-and-twenty hours, with observations every 
whole hour according to Greenwich time. Thus when 
we were busied here with such observations, we knew 
that similar ones were being carried out not only by our 



The German Expedition 273 

sister expeditions, but also at all observatories in the 
southern half of the globe, and at some in the northern. 

**Just at present," he writes, *'the meteorological ob- 
servations^in which all the scientists took part — were of 
much greater general interest. A couple of thermome- 
trical screens were erected on the hill outside the house, 
in one of which were placed a self-registering thermo- 
graph and hygrometer for the determination of the tem- 
perature and humidity of the air, and in the other ther- 
mometers of different kinds. On a shelf in the dining 
room stood a self-registering barograph and a mercu- 
rial barometer being in there as well. A hill 220 feet 
above the station had been fixed upon as the site of 
the anemometer, this instrument registering the veloc- 
ity of the wind upon a strip of paper round a wheel 
set in motion by a clock which hung upon the dining 
room wall. In addition to these we had a self-regis- 
tering sunshine recorder, and every hour we took ob- 
servations of the direction of the wind and cloud-for- 
mation. In the beginning, when we had so many 
other things to do, we contented ourselves with making 
these observations during the daytime only. Bodman 
and Sobral then took turns, one day at a time, at mak- 
ing four complete observations of all the instruments, 
viz., at 7 and 8 a. m., and 2 and 9 p. m. But towards 
the middle of April, night observations were also taken, 
and then each of us had to take it in turns to sit up till 
two in the morning; no observation was taken at 3 
A. M., but a new man took obserA^ations at 4 and 6 a. m., 
after which the day was supposed to begin. 

As soon as we had the house in order, Ekelof set up 
his bacteriological apparatus and commenced his inves- 
tigations. These chiefly concerned the bacterial flora of 



274 The Seventh Continent 

the surface soil, a domain which no one had ever en- 
deavored to explore, even in North Polar regions. In- 
teresting results were obtained from the very beginning ; 
results which showed that in these regions the surface 
soil must almost be considered as the place of origin 
of bacteria, and results which, pursued during different 
seasons and with regard to different kinds of earth, have 
given rise to wholly new ideas concerning the condi- 
tion of bacterial life within the Polar regions. 

*'The one who was most hindered in his work was 
myself, *' continues Nordenskjold, ** although it is true 
that I had fossils in great numbers on every side, and 
that just at this time I made great collections of them. 
It was, however, my intention to make a careful exam- 
ination of the tract in connection with an accurate 
mapping-out of the district, but I had been hoping to 
have many fine days during the autumn at my dis- 
posal, and, in these low latitudes, some in the winter, 
too. Our second winter campaign has shown that these 
hopes were not unreasonable, but such weather as we 
now had, really did not offer many opportunities for 
carrying out this work. One can grow accustomed to 
cold, so that measurements can still be taken, but a 
storm renders this absolutely impossible, and wind of 
even moderate velocity, together with cold, prevents 
almost all outdoor work and observation." 

On the 16th of September the thermometer was at 
35.6° F. and these were the warmest twenty-four hours 
experienced since the party had landed. Had their ship 
been ready to force her way at that date, she could 
have probably communicated with them. 

An important and extended ski journey over the flat 
sea-ice bordering King Oscar Land was at last under- 



The German Expedition 275 

taken after weeks of preparation and vexatious delays. 

On October 1st, 1902, Dr. Nordenskjold set out with 
Lieutenant Sobral and a third man on a sledge journey 
southwards along the coast of King Oscar II. Land. 
Nordenskjold and Sobral hauled 200 pounds on one sled, 
while the other, drawn by five dogs, carried 485 pounds. 

** According to our pedometer," writes Nordenskjold, 
"we marched during each of these days a distance of 
50,000 steps, or about 35 kilometers (21 miles). I need 
not say that during this time we made many new ob- 
servations. The whole of that extensive Alpine land- 
scape which we now approached in an oblique line must 
be regarded as unknown. Before us lay the tract called 
by Larsen, Mount Jason. As far as we could see, this 
consists of a continuous ice-cap, at the edge of which 
some unimportant nunataks project from the ice. But 
the most interesting thing of all was the remarkable ice- 
terrace over which we journeyed. At the end of three 
days I had not fully made up my mind whether it 
was old sea-ice or not that we were on, although the 
absence of all fissures and icebergs spoke against its 
being so. From a scientific point of view it is impos- 
sible that such an idea was, at bottom, the most correct 
one, but the experience of the following days went to 
show that we had here no sea-ice that could be com- 
pared with the phenomena as previously known in other 
regions." 

Numerous deep crevasses impeded progress and made 
this fissure zone advance extremely hazardous. One of 
these ''canal-like crevasses, some 65 feet broad and al- 
most as deep, which showed splendid stratification, often 
seen in large icebergs, proving that the ice had been 
formed of layers of snow deposited during long periods, 



276 The Seventh Continent 

the one upon the other, and being, too, a new proof 
of the transition, found in these regions, from glacier 
to sea-ice. I think," continues Nordenskjold, ''that 
Antarctic icebergs need not necessarily have their ori- 
gin on land, but that they can also be built upon a 
base of sea-ice in shallow water near the land. 

** Instructive as this view was of the history of ice- 
formation, it was, on the other hand, usually unpleasant 
for us to be hindered in our march, for I saw at once 
that, under the circumstances, we should meet insuper- 
able obstacles in the endeavor to reach land. ' ' To avoid 
being obliged to camp in a tract where the least sus- 
picion of fog would form an insuperable obstacle to 
further progress, Nordenskjold was obliged to make 
forced marches until better ice conditions could be 
found. Delays by storms shortened their prospect for 
advance and the return journey was deemed necessary. 

The length of route traversed during the journey 
amounted to over 400 miles in extremely cold and blus- 
tery weather. 

The results were the discovery of an extensive stretch 
of coast connecting Louis Philippe Land with the tracts 
seen by Larsen, the charts of these regions becoming 
completely changed in consequence of the expedition. 

While waiting for the return of the "Antarctic" a 
journey was made to Seymour Island where important 
fossil finds were discovered. The bones of species of 
penguin considerably larger than the Emperor penguin 
demonstrated that at the far distant Tertiary period the 
penguin was an inhabitant of the Antarctic regions. 
Another important find were numerous large and dis- 
tinct leaves in a brown, coarse, hard rock — probably 
of the same epoch and similar to the formation of Cen- 



The German Expedition 277 

tral and Soutliem Europe. 

*'If there was one hope whose fulfillment or non- 
fulfillment was in my thought," writes Nordenskjold, 
"almost synonymous with the success or failure of this 
expedition, it was just that of being able to discover 
in these regions determinable Tertiary vegetable fos- 
sils." 

Disappointment was felt over the fact that the relief 
ship failed to reach them but they faced the situation 
cheerfully and prepared for another dismal winter. An 
inventory of stock showed a scarcity of provisions and 
penguins were procured for food and seal meat formed 
a welcome addition to the winter diet. 

While in a sledge journey to Crown Prince Gustaf 
Channel undertaken by Dr. Nordenskjold in October, 
1903, a most interesting encounter took place with Duse, 
Anderson and Grunder of the "Antarctic" who had 
made a futile attempt to reach the land party in the 
summer of 1902-3 and unable to rejoin their ship had 
been forced to winter in a hut in Hope Bay. They 
now accompanied Nordenskjold back to Snow Hill; as 
they approached the home station all was silent and 
quiet. 

"Can it be possible," writes Nordenskjold, "no one 
has noticed us? All of a sudden we hear a wild bark- 
ing, and the home-staying dogs rush down to meet us, 
but stop doubtfully at sight of the blaek unknown fig- 
ures. Then out come our comrades running down to- 
wards the shore. Sobral is the first to catch sight of 
us, but Bodman gets down first. Duse goes up to 
him and says, in English, 'How do you do?' We see 
in Bodman 's face an indescribable astonishment min- 
gled with doubtful uncertainty; one can mark how he 



278 The Seventh Continent 

is cudgelling his brains. 'Very well, thank you/ comes 
the slow answer. But Duse claps him heartily on the 
shoulder and says, but this time in Swedish, 'Don't you 
know me?' 'Why, of course, it's Duse.' What more 
shall I say of this day? That it was celebrated with 
a banquet need scarcely be mentioned; a dinner when 
we were served with a dish I had never before tasted — 
roast Emperor penguin. The bird had come walking 
past the station a few days before, and had been pho- 
tographed and studied ere being killed to make a dish 
for the anniversary of our leaving Sweden. But before 
dinner great changes had taken place. All available 
photographic plates had been used to immortalize the 
new comers, after which we dived deep down into our 
hiding places, and, although we had previously thought 
ourselves poor in everything that went by the name of 
clothes, a fairly large supply of garments was soon at 
the disposal of our friends. Then there was a great 
cutting of hair and washing, and a couple of hours 
changed the savages into ordinary civilized men. But 
however great the difference appeared to us, I am sure 
that none but the new comers could appreciate and 
describe it as it should be." 

When Captain Larsen had landed Anderson, Duse 
and Grunden December 29th, 1902, for their attempt 
to reach Nordenskjold across the inland ice it had been 
understood that they would soon meet again at that 
station. The "Antarctic" then steered her course north- 
ward for the purpose of rounding Joinville Land. 
Hardly had she advanced before she became impris- 
oned in the ice and carried hopeless to the south, "now 
on her bows, now with her stem, now with her broad 
side first." 



The German Expedition 279 

On January 10th the pressure from the ice became 
most alarming, she rose higher and higher in her ice 
cradle and the ice was crushed to powder along her 
sides. - On the evening of that day she was crushed 
with *'one smashing noise after another" but she did 
not sink for some days later when the ice separated and 
the full damage to her sides was ascertained. In spite 
of the six pumps that were kept constantly working 
the damage was too great to be remedied and she began 
filling rapidly. 

The crew now took to the ice with such equipment 
and provisions as they had been able to save from the 
sinking vessel and made their difficult way to Paulet 
Island lying in latitude 63° 35' S. and 55° 50' W. 
longitude. This they did not reach until March 1st, 
when what they are pleased to call their Esquimaux 
life began. 

They built a stone hut, and then secured penguins 
and seal for fresh food, having a very meagre allow- 
ance of ship's biscuit, tinned meat and fish, condensed 
milk and preserved vegetables to supply the larder for 
the entire winter. As early as possible in the spring 
they made a heroic effort to reach the party at Snow 
Hill. 

Meanwhile Captain Irizar in the Argentine gunboat 
*' Uruguay" was making a brilliant attempt to rescue 
the members of the Swedish expedition at Snow Hill. 
When the "Antarctic" failed to return, the Argentine 
Government had become alarmed as to her safety, and 
equipped a relief vessel and despatched it with all 
haste as soon as the weather conditions permitted in 
search of the stranded expedition. Sweden had des- 
patched another relief vessel, the whaler ''Frithiof," 



280 The Seventh Continent 

but the ''Uruguay" was first to the rescue. 

A few hours after the relief ship had anchored No- 
vember 8, 1903, and Captain Irizar landed to invite 
Dr. Nordenskjold and the members of the expedition 
to board the vessel and return to civilization, when 
some men were seen approaching over the ice. These 
were at first mistaken for members of the '' Uruguay *s" 
crew, so that the advance of these men did not awaken 
much attention. 

*'We were so occupied with our work," writes the 
narrator, ' ' that it was some time ere any of us took the 
trouble to go to see who the people were, but at last 
Bodman went out to solve the riddle. 

"Midsummer was yet far distant, and although the 
night clear and mild, still it was pretty dark. Out 
on the hill there was a group of men looking up at 
the flag which still waved above our house. Bodman 
approached them slowly, for he thought they were for- 
eigners, and it would of course be difficult to find 
words with which to address them. Suddenly his eyes 
open wide with astonishment. Is it an optical delu- 
sion produced by the anxieties of the day, or is reality 
once more about to surpass all that expectation and 
imagination combined could ever picture? The next 
few seconds will decide whether the days of miracles 
are past; he moves with hesitating steps to meet a 
figure that has left the group and is advancing to meet 
them. The next moment wild, ear-piercing cheers, min- 
gled with shouts of ' Larsen ! Larsen is here ! ' tear us 
away in an instant from the work we have in hand. 
As a matter of fact, we have experienced so much during 
the last few days that nothing can seem impossible 
to US; but still, I can scarcely believe my ears. There 



The German Expedition 281 

must be some mistake ; it must be the day 's unrest that 
has made one of us give a form of reality to his wishes. 
But I hurry out like the rest, and the next instant all 
doubts are vanished. There on the hill in the half- 
gloom of the summer night, I am welcoming Larsen, 
K. A. Anderson and their four companions, who after 
this * long divorce ' of place and time, have arrived from 
their forced wintering on Paulet Island just in time 
to join us. No pen can describe the boundless joy 
of this first moment. It was plain that both misfor- 
tune and suffering were hidden in the period, so long 
concealed in the mists of uncertainty, that lay between 
this hour and the departure of the *' Antarctic" from 
Hope Bay. I learned at once that our dear old ship was 
no more in existence, but for the instant I could feel 
nothing but joy when I saw amongst us these men, on 
whom I had only a few minutes before been thinking 
with feelings of the greatest despondency, and when 
I recollected that now we could all leave these tracts 
in company. However deeply I was touched by the com- 
munication that a young and able seaman of their num- 
ber had died at his post, I could not but remember 
with infinite gratitude that all the others had preserved 
both life and health. 

''We conducted the new comers in triumph to the 
building, where everything was at once produced that 
was calculated to gladden men who had spent a winter 
in misery; for these were guests who were certainly 
more able to enjoy what was set before them than our 
friends of the morning. 

''Of what infinite importance was it not that the 
two parties had arrived in the order they did! Wen- 
nersgaard's death, the loss of the 'Antarctic,' the suf- 



282 The Seventh Continent 

ferings of the party, the uncertain future — all this, 
coming before the arrival of the Argentine vessel, would 
have been a terrible blow, but everything was now 
swallowed up in the satisfaction felt in the rescue of 
the many. '* 

Immediate and hasty preparations were made for de- 
parture, and the heavily loaded sledges drawn down 
to the ice foot. As the members of the Swedish Ant- 
arctic expedition approached the "Uruguay," her offi- 
cers and crew lined the sides of the ship. The Swedish 
flag waved at the topmast, and cheers greeted them as 
they stepped aboard. 

''It was a solemn moment," writes one of the party; 
''our expedition, with all its cares and trials and its 
rich harvest of work and discoveries, was now come 
to an end-^we were henceforth merely guests and pas- 
sengers. ' ' 

Another Antarctic expedition in the field at the same 
time as that of the Swedish expedition was that or- 
ganized by Dr. W. S. Bruce, and financially aided by 
Mr. James Coats and Captain Andrew Coats. This 
expedition known as the Scottish Expedition, equipped 
the "Scotia," with Captain Thomas Robertson in com- 
mand. The scientific staff included the well known 
meteorologist Mr. R. C. Mossman, Mr. R. N. Brown 
as naturalist and Dr. J. H. H. Pirie as naturalist. 

The "Scotia" had as her destination the exploration 
of the Weddell Sea. On February 3rd, 1903, she lay 
off the South Orkneys and pushing her way through 
the ice found an open sea to 70° 25' S. On the 22nd 
of the month she was beset in 18° W. longitude. Steer- 
ing a westerly course she pursued an important voyage, 
demonstrating the navigability of Weddell Sea under 



The German Expedition 283 

favourable conditions in 70° south latitude. 

The oeeanographical observations were the most thor- 
ough and extensive yet carried out in the Antarctic 
region. In 1904 the ''Scotia" starting from Sandwich 
group made a straight run south from about 22° West 
longitude to 74° V South latitude, where her progress 
was arrested by the ice. Soundings taken at this point 
showed a depth of only 159 fathoms. In the distance 
could be seen a great ice wall with high snow-covered 
elevations beyond. To this land within the Barrier 
was given the name of Coat's Land. 

In the two voyages of the "Scotia" a distance of 
thirty degrees of longitude of unknown sea had been 
carefully surveyed. 

A meteorological station had been established in 1903 
on Lauri Island, one of the South Orkneys, and kept 
up by Mr. Mossman for a period of two years — at the 
end of which period the Argentine government under- 
took its maintenance. This station has the distinction 
of being the most southerly station at which continuous 
observations have been taken for over five years. 

In August, 1903, through the personal efforts of Dr. 
Jean B. Charcot, an eminent French scientist and ac- 
complished yachtsman, an expedition sailed from Havre 
in the ship ''Le Frangais" for the purpose of scientific 
exploration. There were twenty members of the expe- 
dition, all rugged young men in the best of health, led 
by Dr. Charcot himself, and including Lieutenant 
Matha, Ensign Rey, Engineer Pleneau and M. Turquet 
and M. Gourdon, naturalists. 

The ship touched at Buenos Ayres, and at Ushuaia, 
a little town in Argentina, thence it proceeded to 
Orange Bay and in January, 1904, left the Fueguan 



284 The Seventh Continent 

Archipelago for the Antarctic. On the first of Feb- 
ruary they sighted the mountains of South Island, and 
shortly after encountered the ice. Proceeding through 
the mists and fogs they sailed to the southwest ex- 
tremity of Palmer Archipelago, charting these western 
coasts, and then entered the Bay of Biscoe. 

Later they cruised through the islands of the Palmer 
Archipelago in a vain search to the south for a protected 
harbor for wintering. 

In the vicinity of the Bay of Flanders steep granite 
rock rising to twenty or thirty meters in height fell 
sheer into the water, and numerous immense glaciers 
emptied into the bay. A less dangerous and more pro- 
tected spot was found in a cove of Wandel Island, in 
65° S. near the southern entrance of Gerlaehe Strait, 
where on the evening of March 3rd they cast anchor. 

Immediate preparations were undertaken for secur- 
ing the ship, and the scientific apparatus was installed 
near the shore. A portable house was erected and pro- 
visions were stored in snow houses. A large quantity 
of supplies, including a boat, were landed in case the 
ship should be destroyed by the ice, and every pro- 
tection was taken to insure the success of the expedi- 
tion. 

The ship was also made as warm and comfortable as 
possible, and the routine work in the Antarctic was 
begun with enthusiasm. Excursions were made into the 
immediate country and a general idea gained of the 
rocky and mountainous land by which they were sur- 
rounded. 

The winter which set in about the first of May found 
everything ready, and the dark period was passed in 
cheerfulness and good health. To keep his men in good 



The German Expedition 285 

condition Dr. Charcot devised many diversions and 
for their interest he organized a school, which took 
up two hours on alternate evenings. With the excep- 
tion of one case of "polar anaemia" all came out of 
the trying ordeal in good condition, and speedily im- 
proved with the return of the sun. 

Plans had been made for early spring sledge jour- 
neys, but the weeks passed in unpropitious weather 
conditions until all hope was abandoned and a boat 
journey was organized instead. 

In November, 1904, five members of the expedition 
with Charcot in command left in the whale boat, with 
provisions for twenty days, made their way in the 
direction of Lund Island, situated farthest south of 
the three islands adjacent to Lemair Channel. Upon 
leaving Lund Island they found themselves in the open 
sea; in the sunlight they actually suffered from the 
heat. Charcot says, ''Our eyes began to smart in spite 
of our blue glasses. Our lips burned. Fortunately at 
five o'clock the sun went under a cloud." 

Treading their way through the narrow channels 
between the ice, or dragging the boat over it, the men 
proceeded to Cape Tuxen, where they landed and ex- 
amined the rugged and picturesque country. 

Ascending an elevation of several hundred feet, they 
viewed this desolate mountainous region, where the 
coast on all sides was bordered with high walls of ice. 

They returned with difficulty to Lund Island, which 
was reached December 4th, and two days later were 
again on board ''Le FranQais." 

By vigorously cutting a channel the ship was freed 
on Christmas Day and ascended the Strait of Gerlach 
and the SchoUaert Canal, thereby gaining the open sea. 



286 The Seventh Continent 

Proceeding southward they came in sight of Alexander 
Land January 7th, and after making several unsuc- 
cessful attempts to reach it, proceeded to reconnoiter 
the coast of Graham Land. Cruising to the south when 
in latitude 67°, January 15, new land appeared, moun- 
tainous in character and stretching to the southwest. 
Dr. Charcot was unable to determine whether this 
coast joined Graham Land or was a part of Alexander 
Land. 

An attempt was made to approach this land, and 
while going at full speed the **Frangais'' struck a rock. 
This serious catastrophe necessitated an immediate re- 
treat. The vessel was rapidly shipping water from all 
sides, men were put at the pumps, and a hasty return 
made to Port Penguins, which was reached January 
29th. After a brief rest the expedition returned to 
civilization. Although further exploration was impos- 
sible, Charcot gave to the newly discovered coast the 
name of Loubet Land. 

In 1908 Dr. Charcot organized a second expedition. 
The ship ''Pourquoi Pas" left Punta Arenas in De- 
cember of that year and returning to Palmer Archi- 
pelago carefully examined the coast to the south. This 
detailed examination proved that Loubet Land was prac- 
tically continuous on the north with Graham Land, 
on the south with Alexander Land. Charcot visited 
Adelaide Islands, which he found mountainous, the 
summits rising sharply out of the ice fields. This island 
described by Biscoe as being about 8 miles long was 
found to be much larger, and at least 70 miles in length. 

Peterman Island, situated in 65° 10' S. latitude was 
chosen for wintering, and from this station futile at- 
tempts were made to reach the interior of Graham 



The German Expedition 287 

Land. 

The '^Pourquoi Pas'' made her way to Deception 
Island, where she obtained coal from the whalers' depot, 
and then proceeded once more southward January 6th, 
1910. 

In 70° S. she came in sight of Alexander Land and 
in the distance new land was discovered to the south- 
west. 

The advance of the ''Pourquoi Pas" was stopped 
by the ice in latitude 70° 30' S.; she now steamed 
westward passing Peter I. Island to 128° W. longitude, 
through an absolutely unknown sea. The lack of suf- 
ficient coal prevented her going south at this point 
and she was forced to make for Punta Arenas. 

The results of Dr. Charcot's voyages were valuable 
and significant; from the results of frequent soundings 
and dredgings, he advanced the theory that every in- 
dication along the 20 degrees of longitude west of 
Gerlache's farthest and more than half way from Gra- 
ham Land to King Edward Land, pointed to unsus- 
pected coasts probably not far distant to the south. 



CHAPTER XIV 



UPON his return to England, Lieutenant Shackle- 
ton, whose enthusiasm had not been dampened 
by his serious illness while a member of the 
National Antarctic Expedition of 1901, planned a fresh 
expedition in which he proposed to make an effort to 
reach the South Pole, as well as supplement the scien- 
tific and geographical work already accomplished in 
the least known portion of the globe. By his personal 
exertions and the assistance of his friends he succeeded 
in raising a sufficient sum to equip a small sealing 
vessel, the ''Nimrod," which sailed from Torquay in 
August, 1907. 

As far as his funds would permit, Lieutenant Shackle- 
ton had secured the most up-to-date equipment ever 
used in Polar exploration; it included a portable hut, 
Manchurian ponies for use in sledge journeys, and a 
motor car especially adapted to meet the test of rough 
travelling in low temperatures; it may be stated that 
this truck proved useful in transporting supplies over 
the hard surface of sea-ice, but could not be used in 
the soft snow of the barrier. Food supplies had been 
selected with the utmost care, their variety and quan- 
tity chosen with especial consideration for the needs of 
men living in the unnatural environment of the Ant- 
arctic, and with careful thought toward the prevention 

288 



Lieutenant Shachleton's Voyage 289 

of that disease most dreaded by Polar travellers, an 
outbreak of scurvy. 

The appetite craves accessories when under the pro- 
tracted cold of the Polar regions, such as sweets, 
jams, preserves and syrups, which were taken in con- 
siderable quantities to supplement the usual diet of 
meat and vegetables. Pemmican, combining the max- 
imum of nourishment for the minimum of weight was 
the staple for sledge journeys. 

The clothing chosen was practically the same as that 
used by members of the "Discovery" expedition and 
consisted of thick ' ' Jaeger ' ' woollens and the windproof 
Burberry sourtout, which had proved an excellent shield 
against the cutting blasts of these icy regions. 

The ''Nimrod" started from Lyttleton, New Zealand, 
January 1st, 1908, and in order to save coal was towed 
to the Antarctic Circle by the ''Koonya," a small 
steamer. 

Shackleton's original plan was to land a shore party 
on King Edward Land, discovered and named by Cap- 
tain Scott in 1902, where he contemplated spending 
the year, and be called for by the ''Nimrod" the fol- 
lowing season. 

Skirting the coast line he found the Barrier had 
greatly altered since his last voyage — and although he 
tried in every way to force the impenetrable ice pack 
he found his progress completely barred and was forced 
to abandon this design. The ''Nimrod" returned from 
the extreme east of the barrier, and made her way to 
McMurdo Sound where on February 3rd the landing 
of stores was commenced at Cape Royds, situated at 
the base of Mt. Erebus and distant about 20 miles from 
the abandoned station of the ''Discovery." The rapid 



290 The Seventh Continent 

unloading of stores was arrested for three days by a 
violent blizzard, which buried everything ashore in six 
feet of ice. 

On the 22nd of February, the ''Nimrod" took her 
departure and the shore party consisting of fifteen men 
were left to the strenuous labor of digging out with 
axes and crowbars their buried equipment, establishing 
their winter quarters, organizing their daily routine 
and beginning without delay their scientific labors. 

The members of the expedition thus engaged in- 
cluded Dr. E. Marshall, Dr. Forbes Mackay, Lieutenant 
J. B. Adams, R. N. R., meteorologist. Sir Philip Brockle- 
hurst, J. Murray, biologist, and Professor T. W. David, 
T. R. S., and R. Priestly, geologists, and Douglas Maw- 
son, B. E., B. Sc, physicist, geologist, and magnetician. 

Hardly had the men established themselves before 
speculative eyes were turned toward Mt. Erebus, whose 
icy sides made the possibility of an ascent well nigh 
impracticable. Nevertheless, Professor David, Mr. Maw- 
son, and Dr. Mackay, with provisions for ten days and 
a supporting party consisting of Adams, Marshall and 
Brocklehurst, started on the 5th of March to make 
the attempt. 

**In the ascent of a mountain such as Erebus," 
writes Shackleton, ''it was obvious that a limit would 
soon be reached beyond which it would be impossible 
to use a sledge. To meet these circumstances the ad- 
vance party had made an arrangement of straps by 
which their single sleeping bags could be slung in the 
form of a knapsack upon their backs, and inside the 
bags the remainder of their equipment could bo packed. 
The men of the supporting party, in case they should 
journey beyond ice over which they could drag the 



Lieutenant Shackleton^s Voyage 291 

sledge, had made the same preparations for trans- 
ferring their load to their shoulders. When they started 
I must confess that I saw but little prospect of the 
whole party reaching the top, yet when, from the hut, 
on the third day out, we saw through Armitage's pow- 
erful telescope six tiny black spots slowly crawling up 
the immense deep snow-field to the base of the rugged 
rocky spurs that descended to the edge of the field, 
and when I saw next day out on the sky-line the same 
small figures, I realized that the supporting party was 
going the whole way. 

'^ Standing as a sentinel at the gate of the Great 
Ice Barrier," he continues, ''Erebus forms a magnifi- 
cent picture. The great mountain rises from sea-level 
to an altitude of over 13,000 feet, looking out across 
the Barrier, with its enormous snow-clad bulk tower- 
ing above the white slopes that run up from the coast. 
At the top of the mountain an immense depression 
marks the site of the old crater, and from the side of 
this rises the active cone, generally marked by steam 
or smoke. The ascent of such a mountain would be a 
matter of difficulty in any part of the world, hardly to 
be attempted without experienced guides, but the dif- 
ficulties were accentuated by the latitude of Erebus, 
and the party started off with the full expectation of 
encountering very low temperatures. The men all rec- 
ognized, however, the scientific value of the achieve- 
ment at which they were aiming, and they were deter- 
mined to do their utmost to reach the crater itself. 

*'I took a photograph of the party as they started 
off, ' ' continues Shackleton. ' ' They got under way from 
the hut at a quarter to nine, all hands accompanying 
them across the rocky ridge at the back of the hut, 



292 The Seventh Continent 

lifting the sledge and load bodily over this, and then 
helping the party to pull along the slopes of Back Door 
Bay across Blue Lake up the eastern slope to the first 
level. There we said farewell to the mountain party. 
They first steered straight up a snow slope and skirted 
closely some rocky ridges and moraines in order to 
avoid crevassed glaciers. About a mile out and four 
hundred feet above sea-level a glacial moraine barred 
their path, and they had to portage the sledge over 
it by slipping ice-axes under the load between the 
runners and bearers of the sledge and lifting it over 
the obstruction. On the further side of the moraine 
was a sloping surface of ice and neve on which the 
sledge capsized for the first time. Light snow was 
falling, and there was a slight wind. 

"Pulling the sledge proved fairly heavy work in 
places; at one spot, on the steep slope of a small gla- 
cier, the party had a hard struggle, mostly on their 
hands and knees, in their efforts to drag the sledge 
up the surface of the smooth blue ice thinly coated 
with loose snow. This difficulty surmounted, they en- 
countered some sastrugi, which impeded their progress 
somewhat. 'Sastrugi' means wind furrow, and is the 
name given to those annoying obstacles to sledging, due 
to the action of the wind on the snow. A blizzard has 
the effect of scooping out hollows in the snow, and this 
is especially the case when local currents are set up 
owing to some rock or point of land intercepting the 
free run of the wind. These sastrugi vary in depth 
from two or three inches to three or four feet, accord- 
ing to the position of any rock masses that may be near 
and to the force of the wind forming them. The raised 
masses of snow between the hollows are difficult to 



Lieutenant Shackleton^s Voyage 293 

negotiate with a sledge, especially when they run more 
or less parallel to the course of the traveller. Though 
they have many disadvantages, still there are times when 
their presence is welcome, especially is this the case when 
the sky is overcast and the low stratus cloud obliterates 
all landmarks. At these times a dull grey light is over 
everything, and it is impossible to see the way to steer 
unless one takes the line of sastrugi and notes the angle 
it makes with the compass course, the compass for the 
moment being placed on the snow to obtain the direc- 
tion. In this way one can steer a fairly accurate course, 
occasionally verifying it by calling a halt and laying 
ofP the course again with the compass, a precaution 
tJTit is very necessary, for at times the sastrugi alter 
in direction. 

"The sledgers at this particular juncture had much 
trouble in keeping their feet, and the usual equanimity 
of some of the men was disturbed, their remarks upon 
the subject of sastrugi being audible above the soft pad 
of the finnesko, the scrunch of the ski-boots, and the 
gentle sawing sound of the sledge-runners on the soft 
snow. About 6 p. m. the party encamped at a small 
nunatak of black rock about 2750 ft. above sea-level 
and a distance of seven miles from winter quarters. 
After a good hot dinner they turned into their sleeping- 
bogs in the tents and were soon sound asleep. The fol- 
lowing morning, when the men got up for breakfast, 
the temperature was 10° below zero Fahr., whilst at our 
winter quarters at the same time it was zero. They 
found, on starting, that the gradient was becoming 
much steeper, being 1 in 5, and sastrugi, running 
obliquely to their course, caused the sledge to capsize 
frequently. The temperature was 8° below zero Fahr., 



294 The Seventh Continent 

but the pulling was heavy work and kept the travellers 
warm. They camped that night, March 6, at an alti- 
tude of 5630 ft., having travelled only three miles dur- 
ing the whole day, but they had ascended over 2,800 
ft. above their previous camp. The temperature that 
night was 28° below zero Fahr. The second camp was 
in a line with the oldest crater of Erebus, and from the 
nature of the volcanic fragments lying around, the Pro- 
fessor was of the opinion that Erebus had been pro- 
ducing a little lava within its crater quite recently. 

*'0n the following morning Adams decided that 
the supporting party should make the attempt with the 
forward party to reach the summit. I had left the 
decision in this matter to his discretion, but I myself 
had not considered there would be much chance of the 
three men of the supporting party gaining the sum- 
mit, and had not arranged their equipment with that ob- 
ject in view. They were thus handicapped by having 
a three-man sleeping bag, which bulky article one man 
had to carry; they also were not so well equipped for 
carrying packs, butts of rope having to act as substitutes 
for the broad straps provided for the original advance 
party. However, the Professor, who had put bars of 
leather on his ski-boots, found that these answered as 
well as crampons, and loaned the latter to Marshall. 
Both Adams and the Professor wore ski-boots during the 
whole of the ascent. Ski could not be used for such 
rough climbing, and had not been taken. All the men 
were equipped with both finnesko and ski-boots and with 
the necessaries for camping, and individual tastes had 
been given some latitude in the matter of the clothing 
worn and carried. 

''The six men made a depot of the sledge, some of 



Lieutenant Shackleton^s Voyage 295 

the provisions and part of the cooking utensils at the 
second camp, and then resumed the climb again. They 
started off with tent poles amongst other equipment, but 
after going for half a mile they realized it would be 
impossible to climb the mountain with these articles, 
which were taken back to the depot. Each man car- 
ried a weight of about 40 lbs., the party's gear consist- 
ing chiefly of sleeping-bags, two tents, cooking appara- 
tus, and provisions for three days. The snow slopes 
became steeper, and at one time Mackay, who was cut- 
ting steps on the hard snow with his ice axe, slipped 
and glissaded with his load for about a hundred feet, 
but his further downward career was checked by a pro- 
jecting ledge of snow, and he was soon up again. On 
the third evening, March 7th, the party camped about 
8750 ft. above sea-level, the temperature at that time 
being 20° below zero Fahr. 

"Between 9 and 10 p. m. that night," continues 
Lieutenant Shackleton, *'a strong wind sprang up, and 
when the men awoke the following morning they found 
a fierce blizzard blowing from the southeast. It in- 
creased in fury as the day wore on, and swept with 
terrific force down the rocky ravine where they were 
camped. The whirling snow was so dense and the roar- 
ing wind so loud that, although the two sections were 
only about ten yards apart, they could neither see nor 
hear each other. Being without tent poles, the tents 
were just doubled over the top ends of the sleeping bags 
so as to protect the openings from the drifting snow, 
but, in spite of this precaution, a great deal of snow 
found its way into the bags. In the afternoon Brockle- 
hurst emerged from the three-man sleeping-bag, and 
instantly a fierce gust whirled away one of his wolfskin 



296 The Seventh Continent 

mits; he dashed after it, and the force of the wind 
swept him some way down the ravine. Adams, who 
had left the hag at the same time as Brocklehurst, saw 
the latter vanish suddenly, and in endeavoring to return 
to the bag to fetch Marshall to assist in finding Brockle- 
hurst, he also was blown down by the wind. Meanwhile, 
Marshall, the only remaining occupant of the bag, had 
much ado to keep himself from being blown, sleeping- 
bag and all, down the ravine. Adams had just suc- 
ceeded in reaching the sleeping-bag on his hands and 
knees when Brocklehurst appeared, also on his hands 
and knees, having, by desperate efforts, pulled himself 
back over the rocks. It was a close call, for he was all 
but completely gone, so biting was the cold, before he 
reached the haven of the sleeping-bag. He and Adams 
crawled in, and then, as the bag had been much twisted 
up and drifted with snow while Marshall had been hold- 
ing it down, Adams and Marshall got out to try and 
straighten it out. The attempt was not very successful, 
as they were numb with cold and the bag, with only one 
person inside, blew about, so they got into it again. 
Shortly afterwards Adams made another attempt, and 
whilst he was working at it the wind got inside the 
bag, blowing it open right way up. Adams promptly 
got in again, and the adventure thus ended satisfac- 
torily. The men could do nothing now but lie low whilst 
the blizzard lasted. At times they munched a plasmon 
biscuit or some chocolate. They had nothing to drink 
all that day, March 8, and during the following night, 
as it would have been impossible to have kept a lamp 
alight to thaw out the snow. They got some sleep dur- 
ing the night in spite of the storm. On awaking at 4 
A. M. the following day, the travellers found that the 



Lieutenant Shackleton^s Voyage 297 

blizzard was over, so after breakfast, they started again 
at about 5.30 a. m. 

''The angle of ascent was now steeper than ever, be- 
ing thirty- four degrees, that is, a rise of 1 in 1^2- As 
the hard snow slopes were much too steep to climb with- 
out cutting steps with an ice-axe, they kept as much 
as possible to the bare rocks. Occasionally the arate 
would terminate upwards in a large snow slope, and 
when this was the case they cut steps across the slope 
to any other bare rocks which seemed to persist for 
some distance in an upward direction. Brocklehurst, 
who was wearing ski-boots, began to feel the cold at- 
tacking his feet, but did not think it was serious enough 
to change into finnesko. At noon they found a fair 
camping-ground, and made some tea. They were, at 
this time, some 800 feet below the rim of the old crater 
and were feeling the effects of the high altitude and 
the extreme cold. Below them was a magnificent pan- 
orama of clouds, coast and Barrier snow, but they could 
not afford to spend much time admiring it. After a 
hasty meal they tackled the ascent again. When they 
were a little distance from the top of the rim of the 
main crater, Mackay elected to work his way alone with 
his ice-axe up a long and very steep neve slope instead 
of following the less difficult and safer route by the 
rocks where the rest of the party were proceeding. He 
passed out of sight, and then the others heard him call 
out that he was getting weak and did not think he could 
carry on much longer. They made haste to the top of 
the ridge, and Marshall and the Professor dropped to 
the point where he would be likely to be. Happily, they 
found him coming toward them, and Marshall took his 
load, for he looked very done up. It appeared that 



298 The Seventh Continent 

Mackay had found the work of cutting steps with his 
heavy load more difficult than he had anticipated and 
he only just managed to reach safety when he fell and 
fainted. No doubt this was due, in part, to mountain 
sickness, which, under the severe conditions and at the 
high altitude the party had attained, also affected 
Brocklehurst. 

' ' The party encamped and later had leisure to observe 
their surroundings. They were now on the very brink 
of an almost vertical wall of dark lava, which formed 
the inner edge of the old crater. In some places it 
overhung and was from eighty to a hundred feet in 
height. An immense wind swept ditch separated the 
base of the cliff from the snow plain beyond. The ac- 
tive cone and crater was separated from the wall and 
trench by an extensive snow field which exhibited most 
surprising features. Here and there rose mounds and 
pinnacles of the most varied and fantastic appearance. 

**Some resembled beehives, others were like huge ven- 
tilating cowls, others like isolated turrets, and others 
again in shape resembled various animals, ' ' 

It was now time to return and prepare a hot meal, 
and during this interval of rest it was discovered that 
Brocklehurst had both feet badly frozen. For nearly 
nine hours he had bravely climbed in this painful and 
serious condition. Every effort was made by Marshall 
to restore circulation and after lunch he was left in 
the three man sleeping bag while the others ascended to 
the crater rim. Taking every precaution against acci- 
dent they roped themselves together and cautiously ad- 
vanced over the snowfield, keeping a close lookout for 
crevasses, while they steered their way to the peculiar 
mounds. These eventually proved to be ''the outward 



Lieutenant Shachleton's Voyage 299 

and visible signs of fumaroles" or volcanic vapour wells 
from which in milder zones rises a thin cloud of steam, 
and slight warmth, but, writes Shackleton, ''the fuma- 
roles of Erebus have their vapour turned into ice as soon 
as it reaches the surface of the snow-plain." 

On their return to camp they found Brocklehurst 
progressing as well as could be hoped for and prepara- 
tions were made for an earl}^ start the following morn- 
ing, when they intended making their way to the active 
criater. 

On the 10th of March, after a journey of four hours 
and at an altitude of 13,300 ft., they reached its edge. 

*'We stood," writes a member of the party, "on the 
verge of a vast abyss, and at first could see neither to 
the bottom nor across it on account of the huge mass 
of steam filling the crater and soaring aloft in a column 
500 to 1,000 ft. high. After a continuous loud hissing 
sound, lasting for some minutes, there would come from 
below a big, dull boom, and immediately great globular 
masses of steam would rush upwards to swell the volume 
of the snow white cloud which ever sways over the 
crater. This phenomenon recurred at intervals during 
the whole of our stay at the crater. Meanwhile, the air 
around us was extremely redolent of burning sulphur. 
Presently a pleasant northerly breeze fanned away the 
steam cloud, and at once the whole crater stood re- 
vealed to us in all its vast extent and depth. Mawson's 
angular measurement made the depth 900 ft., and the 
greatest width about half a mile. There were at least 
three well defined openings at the bottom of the caul- 
dron, and it was from these that the steam explosions 
proceeded. Near the southwest portion of the crater 
there was an immense rib in the rim, perhaps 300 to 



300 The Seventh Continent 

400 ft. deep. The crater wall opposite the one at the 
top of which we were standing presented features of 
special interest. Beds of dark pumiceous lava or pum- 
ice alternated with white zones of snow. There was no 
direct evidence that the snow was bedded with the lava, 
though it was possible that such may have been the 
case. From the top of one of the thickest of the lava 
or pumice beds, just where it touched the belt of snow, 
there rose scores of small steam jets all in a row. They 
were too numerous and too close together to have been 
each an independent fumarole, the appearance was 
rather suggestive of the snow being converted into 
steam by the heat of the layer of rock immediately be- 
low iV 

After collecting geological specimens the party re- 
turned to camp and made a hasty meal preparatory to 
the return, Brocklehurst insisting on carrying his heavy 
burden in spite of his frost-bitten feet. Taking a 
course a little westward of their ascent they floundered 
down a precipitous rubbly spur of rock for a distance 
of several hundred feet when they discovered that this 
ended abruptly in a steep neve slope. Taking the path 
of least resistance, they launched their loads down these 
long slopes and proceeded to glissade after them. 

''As they gathered speed on the downward course,'' 
writes Shackleton, ''and the chisel-edge of the ice-axe 
bit deeper into the hard neve, their necks and faces 
were sprayed with a shower of ice. All reached the bot- 
tom of the slope safely (a distance of five or six hun- 
dred feet) and they repeated this glissade down each 
succeeding snow slope towards the foot of the main 
cone. Here and there they bumped heavily on hard sas- 
trugi and both clothes and equipment suffered in the 



Lieutenant Shackleton's Voyage 301 

rapid descent, unfortunately also, one of the aneroids 
was lost and one of the hypsomete thermometers broken. 
At last the slope flattened out to the gently inclined 
terrace where the depot lay, and they reached it by 
walking. Altogether they had dropped down 5,000 ft. 
between three in the afternoon and seven in the even- 
ing.'' 

At the depot they found that the blizzard of the 8th 
had overturned their sledge and scattered the load, the 
missing articles being covered with snow. 

After camping for the night they made an early 
start the following morning and in the face of an ap- 
proaching blizzard which necessitated abandoning their 
sled and making a forced march in grey uncertain light 
toward Cape Royds, the last half mile seeming the most 
wearisome of the entire distance to the tired travellers. 
Upon reaching winter quarters once more they received 
a true ovation. 

The preparation and laying down of depots for Shack- 
leton's great southern journey, on which he planned to 
start the latter part of October, 1908, minor excursions 
incident to scientific research, and the usual occupa- 
tions of the routine life occupied the succeeding months 
and the entire party passed the Antarctic night in good 
health and spirits. 

The second great achievement of the expedition weis 
the attainment of the South Magnetic Pole by Professor 
David, Dr. Mackay and Mr. Douglas Mawson. The 
Northern party, as they were called, left Cape Royds 
October, 1908, and after picking up one of the depots 
to the west proceeded by way of the sea-ice along the 
coast. The heavily laden sledges were dragged forward 
in relays, the members of the party being obliged to 



302 The Seventh Continent 

cover the distance three times, for every mile advanced ; 
in this laborious manner they travelled 250 miles, but 
the progress was so slow that it was necessary to sup- 
plement the rations by the flesh of seals and penguins. 
As the heat of the sun's rays became stronger the men, 
though travelling and sleeping upon the ice, found 
the exertion of dragging the heavily laden sledges more 
and more trying, and began to complain of the heat, 
necessitating the removal of some of their extra gar- 
ments. After establishing a depot on Drygalski Bar- 
rier Tongue, they proceeded mth six weeks' provisions 
and proceeded inland to cover an estimated distance 
of 200 miles to the Magnetic Pole. As they proceeded 
inland they were obliged to cross a high, deeply crev- 
assed plateau. Bad weather attended their laborious 
advance, while blizzards and heavy snow falls made 
progress difficult and well nigh impossible. 

At the south of Mount Larsen, they ascended a suc- 
cession of snow terraces until they reached elevation 
about 8,000 feet above the level of the sea. 

On January 16th, 1909, they reached their goal and 
raised the Union Jack in honor of his Majesty in 72° 
45' South, longitude 145°. 

The return of the party was a race against starva- 
tion and the force of the elements. The men knew that 
instructions at winter quarters to the Captain of the 
/'Nimrod" would inaugurate a search for them about 
February 1st in the direction of the depot at Drygalski 
Glacier. On January 17th, they had about 249 miles to 
cover and an effort was made to average sixteen and two- 
thirds miles a day. They were now almost without food 
and it was highly important to reach the coast as soon as 
possible. Delayed by thick weather, and the long detours 



Lieutenant Shackleton^s Voyage 303 

incident to the deeply crevassed snow fields over which 
they were wearily wending their way, they were yet some 
distance from Drygalski Barrier on the third of Feb- 
ruary. Fortunately on that day they secured an Em- 
peror Penguin and its flesh and liver when boiled with 
a little snow over the Primus was the most satisfying 
meal they had had for many a day. 

''After lunch," writes Professor David, ''we sledged 
on for over one and a half miles further towards the 
depot, and at about 10 :30 p. m. reached an ice mound 
on the south side of the inlet in which the snow canon 
terminated seawards. This camping spot was a little 
over a mile distant from our depot. We were now all 
thoroughly exhausted and decided to camp. The spot 
we had selected seemed specially suitable, as from the 
adjacent ice mound we could get a good view of the 
ocean beyond the Drygalski Barrier. While Mawson 
and I got up the tent, Mackay went to kill a seal at the 
shore of the inlet. He soon returned with plenty of seal 
meat and liver. He said that he had found two young 
seals, and had killed one of them; that they had both 
behaved in a most unusual manner, scuttling away 
quickly and actively at his approach, instead of waiting 
without moving, as did most of the Weddell seals 
that had been previously killed. We discovered later 
that these two seals belonged to the comparatively rare 
variety known as Ross seal. After a delicious meal of 
seal blubber, blood and oil, with fried meat and liver, 
cooked by Mawson, Mawson and I turned into the sleep- 
ing bag, leaving Mackay to take the first of our four 
hour watches on the lookout for the "Nimrod." During 
his watch he walked up to our depot and dug out our 
biscuit tin, which had served us as a blubber lamp and 



304 The Seventh Continent 

cooker, together with the cut-down paraffin tin which 
we had used as a frying-pan. Both these he carried 
down to our tent. There he lit the blubber lamp just 
outside the tent and cooked some penguin meat, regal- 
ing himself at intervals during his four hours' watch 
with dainty morsels from the savoury dish. When he 
called me up at 4 a. m. I found that he had thoughtfully 
put into the frying-pan a junk of Emperor's breast, 
weighing about two pounds, for me to toy with during 
my watch. A chilly wind was blowing off the plateau, 
and I was truly thankful for an occasional nibble at the 
hot penguin meat. After cooking some more penguin 
meat I called up Mawson soon after 8 a. m. on Febru- 
ary 4th, and immediately afterwards turned into the 
bag, and at once dropped off sound asleep." 

Upon awaking and enjoying another warm repast the 
weary travellers discussed their future prospects. If 
the ''Nimrod" did not come to their rescue there was 
the hard journey back over the sea ice — with only such 
food as they could procure by killing seals and pen- 
guins on the way. The prospect was anything but 
cheerful, and they had just decided to gather up their 
belongings and make for the depot when a loud report 
of cannon, seemingly at the tent door, made them start 
toward that opening with a precipitous rush. 

"Mawson gave tongue first," writes Professor David, 
* ' roaring out, ' A gun from the ship. ' * Bring something 
to wave, ' shouted Mawson, and I rushed back to the tent 
and seized Mackay's ruck-sack. As I ran forward this 
time, what a sight met my gaze. There was the dear old 
*Nimrod' not a quarter of a mile away, steaming 
straight towards us up the inlet, her bows just rounding 
the entrance. At the sight of the three of us running 



Liiutenant ShacHeton's Voyage 305 

frantically to meet the ship, hearty ringing cheers burst 
forth from all on board. How those cheers stirred every 
fibre of one's being! It would be hard, indeed, for any 
one, not situated as we had been, to realize the sudden 
revulsion of our feelings. In a moment, as dramatic as 
it was heavenly, we seemed to have passed from death 
into life. My first feelings were of intense relief and 
joy; then of fervent gratitude to the kind Providence 
which had so mercifully led our friends to our deliver- 
ance. 

**A sudden shout from Mackay called me back to 
earth, 'Mawson's fallen into a deep crevasse. Look 
out, it 's just in front of you ! ' I then saw that Mackay 
was kneeling on the snow near the edge of a small ob- 
long sapphire-blue hole in the neve. 'Are you all right, 
Mawson?' he sang out, and from the depth came up 
the welcome word 'Yes.' Mackay then told me that 
Mawson was about twenty feet down the crevasse. We 
decided to try and pull him up with the sledge harness, 
and hurried back to the sledge, untoggled the harness, 
ran back with it to the crevasse, and let one end down 
to Mawson. We found, however, that combined strength 
was insufficient to pull him up and that there was a risk, 
too, of the snow lid at the surface falling in on Maw- 
son, if weight was put upon it, unless it was strength- 
ened with some planking. Accordingly we gave up the 
attempt to haul Mawson up, and while I remained at 
the crevasse holding one end of the sledge harness, 
Mackay hurried off for help to the 'Nimrod,' which 
was now berthing alongside of the south wall of the in- 
let, about two hundred yards distant. Mackay shouted 
to those on board, 'Mawson has fallen down a crevasse 
and we got to the Magnetic Pole.' The accident had 



306 The Seventh Continent 

taken place so suddenly that those on board had not 
realized in the least what had happened. A clear, firm, 
cheery voice, that was strange to me, was now heard 
issuing prompt orders for a rescue party. Almost in 
less time than it takes to write it, officers and sailors 
were swarming over the bows of the 'Nimrod,' and 
dropping on the ice barrier beneath. I called down to 
Mawson that help was at hand. He said that he was 
quite comfortable at present; that there was sea water 
at the bottom of the crevasse, but that he had been able 
to sustain himself a couple of feet above it on the small 
ledge that had arrested his fall. Meanwhile, the rescue 
party, headed by the first officer of the 'Nimrod,' J. 
K. Davis, had arrived on the scene. The crevasse was 
bridged with a suitable piece of sawn timber, and Davis, 
with that spirit of thoroughness which characterises all 
his work, promptly had himself lowered down the cre- 
vasse. On reaching the bottom he transferred the rope 
by which he had been lowered to Mawson, and, with a 
long pull and a strong pull and a pull altogether, the 
company of the 'Nimrod' soon had Mawson safe on 
top, none the worse for the accident, with the exception 
that his back was slightly bruised. As soon as the rope 
was cast free from Mawson, it was let down again for 
Davis, and presently he, too, was safely on top. 

"And now," concludes Pi-ofessor David, "we had a 
moment of leisure to see who constituted the rescue 
party. There were the dear old faces so well known 
on our voyage together the previous year and inter- 
spersed with them were a few new faces. Here were 
our old comrades Armitage and Brocklehurst, Dr. 
Michell, Harbord (the officer, who — as we learned later 
— had sighted our depot flag) , our good stewards Ansell 



Lieutenant Shackleton's V ay age 307 

and Ellis, the genial boatswain Cheetham, Paton, and a 
number of others. What a joyous grasping of hands 
and hearty all-round welcoming followed. Foremost 
among them all to welcome us was Captain Evans who 
had commanded the S.S. 'Koonya, ' which towed the 
'Nimrod' from Littleton to beyond the Antarctic Circle, 
and it goes without saying that the fact that the 'Nim- 
rod ^ was now in command of a master of such experience 
so well and favourably known in the shipping world of 
New Zealand and Australia, gave us the greatest satis- 
faction. . . . 

"While willing hands packed up our sledge, tent and 
other belongings, Captain Evans walked with us to the 
rope ladder hanging over the bows of the 'Nimrod.' 
Quickly as all this had taken place, Mackay had already 
found time to secure a pipe and some tobacco from one 
of our crew, and was now puffing away to his heart's 
content. We were soon all on the deck of the 'Nimrod' 
once more, and were immediately stood up in a row 
to be photographed. As soon as the cameras had worked 
their wicked will upon us, for we were a sorry sight, our 
friends hurried us off for afternoon tea. After our one 
hundred and twenty-two days of hard toil over the sea 
ice of the coast and the great snow desert of the hinter- 
land, the little ship seemed to us as luxurious as an 
ocean liner. To find oneself seated once more in a 
comfortable chair, and to be served witli new-made 
bread, fresh butter, cake and tea, was Elysium. 

' ' We heard of the narrow escape of Armitage, Priest- 
ley and Brocklehurst, when they were being carried out 
to sea, with only two days' provisions, on a small ice 
floe surrounded by Killer whales; and how, just after 
the momentary grounding of the floe, they were all just 



308 The Seventh Continent 

able to leap ashore at a spot where they were picked 
up later by the 'Nimrod.' We also heard of the extraor- 
dinary adventures and escapes of Mackintosh and Mc- 
Gillan in their forced march overland, without tent or 
sleeping-bag, from Mount Bird to Cape Royds; of the 
departure of the supporting party to meet the South- 
ern Party; and, in short, of all the doings at Cape 
Royds and on the 'Nimrod' since we had last heard any 
news. Pleasantly the buzz of our friends' voices 
blended itself with the gentle fizzing of steam from the 
'Nimrod's' boiler, and surely since the days of John 
Gilpin *were never folk so glad,' as were we three." 



CHAPTER XV 
shackleton's southern journey 

LIEUTENANT SHACKLETON'S Southern Jour- 
ney, the third and greatest achievement of this 
extraordinary expedition, was the culmination of 
carefully thought out plans, and the deposit of depots 
far out in advance of the harrier ice. 

Ever since the landing of the shore party the utmost 
attention had been given to the care and training of 
the ponies and dogs, that they should be hardened and 
in fit condition for the strenuous work upon which the 
success of this attempt to reach the South Pole so much 
depended. A maximum weight of 650 pounds to be 
drawn by each pony was estimated as that which prom- 
ised the most efficient results. 

The sledges were especially adapted to the ice-crust 
over which they were expected to travel, metal being 
used very sparingly in their construction, the object 
to be attained being suppleness and durability and for 
this carefully selected hickory wood was held together 
for the most part with rawhide lashings. Shackleton 
dispensed entirely with the iron runners which the ex- 
perience of his former journey while a member of the 
''Discovery" expedition had proved unsatisfactory. 

The food supply had been selected with a view to the 
greatest amount of nourishment to the minimum weight 
and included pemmican, — ground beef mixed with lard 

309 



310 The Seventh Continent 

— sugar, biscuits, cheese, plasmon, tea, cocoa and choco- 
late. An *' emergency ration," consisting of crushed 
bacon and beans to which was added pemmican and 
powdered biscuit and when heated altogether made a 
quickly prepared and nourishing dish called "hoosh." 

Shackleton's plan was to follow a route about 40 
miles farther east than Scott had done, in order to avoid 
if possible the rough and crevassed ice near the great 
range mountains running southward. 

He chose for his companions Dr. Marshall, Wild and 
Adams, and on the 28th of October, 1908, with provi- 
sions for ninety-one days, four ponies and four eleven- 
foot sledges, this party left Cape Koyds. A supporting 
party of five men provisioned for fourteen days accom- 
panied them. 

The first camp was made at Hut Point and here they 
were delayed until the 3rd of November by one of the 
ponies which had gone lame crossing the sea-ice. Upon 
passing the end of White Island the surface of the 
snow became softer, which commenced the trying condi- 
tions of travel with which they were forced to contend 
for the entire journey. Numerous crevasses loomed 
dangerously in their path and on the 7th of November 
the supporting party bid farewell and returned to quar- 
ters. 

What had appeared to be a level plain over which 
there was every indication of propitious travelling, 
turned out to be a treacherous maze of crevasses in 
many places lightly covered with snow so that the eye 
must constantly be on the lookout for fear of fatal ac- 
cident. In spite of every precaution, one of the ponies 
went down and narrowly escaped dragging Adams and 
half of the provisions of the party after him. The dif- 



Shackleton's Smithern Journey 311 

ficulty of extricating a heavy pony from such a precari- 
ous position was no light work, and the several occasions 
of these accidents, added greatly to the drain upon the 
strength and endurance of the men. 

In spite of accident and the stress of high winds, an 
average advance of fifteen miles was kept up for a 
considerable period, each man leading his pony and 
taking turns in breaking the trail. Upon reaching the 
great wind swept snow plain their advance was through 
the great sastrugi, characteristic of this desolate region. 

Stores were picked up at Depot A, which was reached 
the 15th of November; at the second distant about 
eighty-eight miles further, one of the ponies which had 
broken down was killed. Part of the meat and other 
rations were left here for the return and a flag marked 
the depot, although in the uncertain light this could 
be seen only for a short distance. At each camp they 
built a mound of snow to guide them on the return 
journey. 

On November 22nd, in 81° 8' South, Shackleton 
writes : 

*'The outstanding feature of to-day's march is that 
we have seen new land to the south — land never seen 
by human eyes before. The land consists of great snow- 
clad heights rising beyond Mount Longstaff, and also 
far inland to the north of Mount Markham. These 
heights we did not see on our journey south on the last 
expedition, for we were too close to the land, or, rather, 
foothills, but now at the great distance we are out they 
can be seen plainly." 

From now on each mile showed them new land of 
lofty mountains, estimated at over 10,000 ft. in height. 

Two days later, November 26th, they passed the lati- 



312 The Seventh Continent 

tude of Scott's ''furthest South"; that day he writes: 

''It falls to the lot of few men to view land not pre- 
viously seen by human eyes, and it was with feelings 
of keen curiosity, not unmingled with awe, that we 
watched the new mountains rise from the great unknown 
that lay ahead of us. Mighty peaks they were, the eter- 
nal snows at their bases, and their rough-hewn forms 
rising high towards the sky. No man of us could tell 
what we would discover in our march south, what won-^ 
ders might not be revealed to us, and our imaginations 
would take wings until a stumble in the snow, the sharp 
pangs of hunger, or the dull ache of physical weariness 
brought back our attention to the needs of the immediate 
present. 

"As the day wore on, and mountain after mountain 
came into view, grimly majestic, the consciousness of 
our insignificance seemed to grow upon us. We were 
but tiny black specks crawling slowly and painfully 
across the white plain, and bending our puny strength 
to the task of wresting from nature secrets preserved 
inviolate through all ages. Our anxiety to learn what 
lay beyond was none the less keen, however, and the 
long days of marching over the Barrier surface were 
saved from monotony by the continued appearance of 
new land to the southeast. ' ' 

It now looked as if this mountainous range must be 
crossed if an advance upon the Pole was to be hoped 
for. 

On December 2nd there was only one pony left, and 
the travelling was growing more and more difficult. 
High pressure ridges enormously crevassed made fur- 
ther travel on the Barrier impracticable and it was de- 
termined to strike due south to the land. On December 



Shackleton^s Southern Journey 313 

4th, Shackleton makes the entry: 

"Unable to write yesterday owing to a bad attack of 
snow blindness, and not much better to-night, but I must 
record the events of the two most remarkable days that 
we have experienced since leaving the winter quarters. 
After breakfast at 5:30 a. m. yesterday, we started off 
from camp, leaving all camp gear standing and a good 
feed by Socks to last him the whole day. We got un- 
^ der way at 9 a. m., taking four biscuits, four lumps 
of sugar and two ounces of chocolate each for lunch. 
We hoped to get water at the first of the rocks when we 
landed. Hardly had we gone one hundred yards when 
we came to a crevasse, which we did not see very dis- 
tinctly for the light was bad, and the sun obscured by 
clouds. We roped up and went on in single file, each 
with his ice-pick handy. I found it very difficult to 
see clearly with my goggles, and so took them off, and the 
present attack of snow-blindness is the result, for the sun 
came out gloriously later on. We crossed several crev- 
asses filled with snow except at the sides, the gaps being 
about 2 ft. wide, and the whole crevasses from 10 to 20 
ft. across. Then we were brought up all standing by an 
enormous chasm about 80 ft. wide and 300 ft. deep which 
lay right across our route. This chasm was similar to, 
only larger than, the one we encountered in latitude 80° 
30' South when on the southern journey with Captain 
Scott during the ''Discovery" Expedition. By making 
a detour to the right we found that it gradually pinched 
out and became filled with snow, and so we were able 
to cross and resume our line to the land, which very 
deceptively appeared quite close but was really some 
miles away. 

''Crossing several ridges of ice-pressure and many 



314 The Seventh Continent 

more crevasses, we eventually at 12 :30 p. m. reached an 
area of smooth blue ice in which were embedded several 
granite boulders, and here we obtained a drink of deli- 
cious water formed by the sun playing on the rock face 
and heating the ice at the base. After travelling for 
half a mile, we reached the base of the mountain which 
we hoped to climb in order to gain a view of the sur- 
rounding country. This hill is composed of granite, 
the red appearance being no doubt due to the iron. At 
1 p. M. we had a couple of biscuits and some water, 
and then started to make our way up the precipitous 
rock face. This was the most difficult part of the whole 
climb, for the granite was weathered and split in every 
direction, and some of the larger pieces seemed to be 
just nicely balanced on smaller pieces, so that one could 
almost push them over by a touch. With great diffi- 
culty we clambered up this rock face, and then ascended 
a gentle snow slope to another rocky bit, but not so 
difficult to climb. From the top of this ridge there 
burst upon our view an open road to the South, for 
there stretched before us a great glacier running almost 
south and north between two huge mountain ranges. 
As far as we could see, except towards the mouth, the 
glacier appeared to be smooth, yet this was not a cer- 
tainty, for the distance was so great. Eagerly we 
clambered up the remaining ridges and over a snow- 
slope, and found ourselves at the top of the mountain, 
the height being 3,350 ft. according to aneroid and 
hypsometer. From the summit we could see the glacier 
stretching away south inland till at last it seemed to 
merge in high inland ice. Where the glacier fell into 
the Barrier about northeast bearing, the pressure waves 
were enormous, and for miles the surface of the Barrier 




SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON 



Shackleton's Scmihern Journey 315 

was broken up. This was what we had seen ahead of us 
the last few days, and we now understood the reason of 
the commotion on the Barrier surface. To the south- 
east we could see the lofty range of mountains we had 
been following still stretching away in the same direc- 
tion, and we can safely say that the Barrier is bounded 
by a chain of mountains extending in a south-easterly 
direction as far as the 86th parallel South. The moun- 
tains to the west appear to be more heavily glaciated 
than the ones to the eastward. There are some huge 
granite faces on the southern sides of the mountains, 
and these faces are joined up by cliffs of a very dark 
hue. To the south-south-east, towards what is appar- 
ently the head of the glacier, there are several sharp 
cones of very black rock, eight or nine in all. Beyond 
these are red granite faces, with sharp needle-like spurs, 
similar in appearance to the 'cathedral' rocks described 
by Armitage in connection with the ' Discovery ' Expedi- 
tion to the western mountains. Turning to the west, 
the mountains on that side appeared to be rounded and 
covered with huge masses of ice, and glaciers showing 
the lines of crevasses. In the far distance there is what 
looked like an active volcano. There is a big mountain 
with a cloud on the top, bearing all the appearance of 
steam from an active cone. It would be very interesting 
to find an active volcano so far south. After taking 
bearings of the trend of the mountains, Barrier and 
glacier, we ate our frugal lunch and wished for more 
and then descended." 

Shackleton now decided to travel over this great gla- 
cier, this magnificent ''Highway to the South." This 
journey is one of the most remarkable in Polar history. 
Upon closer acquaintance this immediate glacier, which 



316 The Seventh Continent 

had looked smooth and beautiful in the distance was 
found to he honeycombed with crevasses, some open, 
others more treacherous because hidden under the snow. 
The heavily loaded sledges could not be drawn over 
these blue-black caverns but as each bottomless cut ap- 
peared the loads had to be lightened and carried across 
in relays, thus making every mile advanced one of the 
most strenuous and back breaking toil. 

The one remaining pony sank repeatedly to his belly 
in the soft snow, and had to be continually hauled out 
of pitfalls, making the work of the men yet more dan- 
gerous and arduous. 

By December 6th they had crawled 1700 ft. up this 
fateful pathway to the Pole. The following day in the 
uncertain gray light Wild called suddenly for ' ' Help ! ' ' 
and upon the others rushing to his assistance they saw 
the pony sledge with the forward end down a crevasse 
and Wild reaching out from the side of the gulf grasp- 
ing the sledge. The pony had entirely disappeared, and 
the marvel was that Wild had been spared a similar fate, 
but he fortunately scrambled out unhurt. 

The loss of this last pony, which was to have been 
shot that night, as it could no longer proceed over the 
disturbed glacier face, was the loss to the men of just 
so much reserve food, and was in all probability, the 
unforeseen cause of their non-attainment of the South 
Pole. 

''Wild says," writes Shackleton, "he just felt a sort 
of rushing wind, the leading rope was snatched from 
his hand, and he put out his arms and just caught the 
further edge of the chasm. Fortunately for Wild and 
us. Sock's weight snapped the swingle-tree of the sledge, 
so it was saved, though the upper bearer was broken. We 



Shackletan^s Souihern Journey 317 

lay down on our stomachs and looked over into the gulf, 
but no sound or sign came to us ; a black bottomless pit 
it seemed to be. We hitched the pony sledge to our- 
selves and started off again, now with a weight of 1,000 
lb. for the four of us/^ 

On the 9th Marshall went down and entirely disap- 
peared, and was only saved by his harness. Constant 
falls, bruises, cut shins, and the unremitting watchful- 
ness necessary to avoid the crevasses and *' razor-edged ' * 
ice, with insufficient food and in the face of cutting 
winds, was the daily lot of these courageous adventurers 
along the 100 miles travelled in the Great Beardmore 
glacier. 

The question of food became the great factor in their 
advance. On December 18th they had reached an alti- 
tude of 7,400 ft. above sea level and on that night Shack- 
leton makes entry: 

*'We have been saving food to make it spin out, and 
that increases our hunger; each night we all dream of 
food. We save two biscuits per man per day, also pem- 
mican and sugar, ekeing out our food with pony maize, 
which we soak in water to make less hard. All this 
means that we have now five weeks' food, while we are 
about 300 geographical miles from the Pole, with the 
same distance back to the last depot we left yesterday, 
so we must march on short food to reach our goal. The 
temperature is plus 16° Fahr. to-night, but the cold 
wind all the morning cut our faces and broken lips. 
We keep crevasses with us still, but I think that to- 
morrow will see the end of this. When we passed the 
main slope to-day more mountains appeared to the west 
of south, some with sheer cliffs and other rounded off, 
ending in long snow slopes. I judge the southern limit 



318 The Seventh Continent 

of the mountains to the west to be about latitude 86° 
South.'' 

On December 21st the Midsummer day of the Ant- 
arctic, there was 28° of frost, and the men suffered from 
frost bites; they were now travelling at an elevation of 
8,000 ft. above sea level. On that day they covered a 
distance of six miles in the face of a strong wind. 

' * We are very hungry now, ' ' he writes. ' ' Thank God 
we are fit and well and have had no accident, which is 
a mercy, seeing that we have covered over 130 miles 
of crevassed ice." 

And the next day there is the entry : 

** Please God, ahead of us there is a clear road to the 
Pole." He adds: "We are very hungry indeed, and 
talk a great deal of what we would like to eat. ' ' 

Christmas day the plateau surface was fairly reached 
in an altitude of 9500 ft., the men travelling laboriously 
in the face of drifting snow and a biting wind. On this 
day a still further reduction of food was inaugurated. 
The advance on the plateau was a weary climb of ridge 
after ridge of undulating snow. " If a great snow plain 
rising every seven miles in a steep ridge can be called 
a plateau, then we are on it at last," wrote Shackleton. 
At an altitude of 10,310 ft. the men suffered from bad 
headaches, probably due to a combination of insuffi- 
cient food and mountain sickness, several bled from the 
nose, all felt the great strain of physical effort in this 
high altitude. 

New Year's day the record is very brief — they had 
compassed eleven miles — ''struggling up hill all day in 
very soft snow" — 10,755 ft. above sea level. The fol- 
lowing day Shackleton writes: 

"A cold wind with a temperature of minus 14° Fahr., 



^ SJmckleton's Southern Journey 319 

goes right through us now, as we are weakening from 
want of food, and the high altitude makes every move- 
ment an effort, especially if we stumble on the march. 
My head is giving me trouble all the time. Wild seems 
the most fit of us. God knows we are doing all we can, 
but the outlook is serious if this surface continues and 
the plateau gets higher, for we are not travelling fast 
enough to make our food spin out and get back to our 
depot in time. ... I feel that if we go on too far it 
will be impossible to get back over this surface, and then 
all the results will be lost to the world. We can now 
definitely locate the South Pole on the highest plateau 
in the world, and our geological and meteorological rec- 
ords will be of the greatest use to science ; but all this is 
not the Pole. Man can only do his best, and we have 
arrayed against us the strongest forces of nature. This 
cutting south wind with drifts plays the mischief with 
us, and after ten hours of struggling against it one pan- 
nikin of food with two biscuits and a cup of cocoa does 
not warm one up much.'' 

They came to their final march on January 6 ; the 
situation was too desperate to be protracted further; 
they were now at an altitude of 12,200 ft. above sea 
level and for two days were held fast in the teeth of a 
raging blizzard. On January 19th, 1909, these un- 
daunted men at 4 a. m. arose from the frozen sleeping 
bags in which they had sheltered themselves against the 
tempests, leaving everything behind them, and racing, 
half walking, half running, reached by nine o'clock 88° 
23' South in 162° East, where they raised the Queen's 
flag, then the Union Jack, and took possession of this 
vast snow-clad plateau in the name of his majesty the 
King. 



320 The Seventh Continent 

To the South, lying white and silent under the South- 
ern Cross distant 97 miles across the trackless wilder- 
ness, was the great undiscovered goal of their ambi- 
tions. 

Lieutenant Shackleton in this extraordinary south- 
ward journey had outdistanced the previous record by 
336 geographical miles, an unprecedented feat in the 
history of Polar exploration. It was a stupendous 
achievement, and the return of over a distance of 700 
miles to the ship was still more remarkable. They had 
started on their journey South in the best of health, well 
nourished and with an excellent reserve vitality, but the 
journey northward to the distant depots upon which life 
itself depended, was made by a series of forced marches 
in an enfeebled and half -famished condition, the results 
of constant exposure and incessant toil telling more and 
more upon them, and the marvel was that they ever 
managed to pull through. 

The strength of the fearful south wind which had in- 
creased their labour on the journey out now helped them 
on their return. Rigging a sail to the sledge they were 
able to cover a distance of between twenty and thirty 
miles a day — ^this remarkable retreat was all that saved 
them — without the assistance of the wind to help them 
travel they would have succumbed to starvation between 
the depots. They crossed pressure ridge and treacher- 
ous crevasse at full speed ; it was a case of riskiug life 
and limb in the hope of ultimately reaching safety or 
dying by the wayside, of hunger and exhaustion. Janu- 
ary 26 and 27 are written up as one, for says Shackle- 
ton: 

''They have been the hardest and most trying we 
have ever spent in our lives^ and will ^ver stand in our 



Shackleton^s Souihern Journey 321 

memories. To-night (the 27th) we had our first solid 
food since the morning of the 26th. We came to the 
end of all our provisions except a little cocoa and tea, 
and from 7 a. m. on the 26th till 2 p. m. on the 27th 
we did 16 miles over the worst surfaces and most dan- 
gerous crevasses we have ever encountered, only stop- 
ping for tea or cocoa till they were finished, and march- 
ing twenty hours at a stretch, through snow 10 to 18 
in. thick as a rule, with sometimes 2i/^ ft. of it. We 
fell into hidden crevasses time after time, and were 
saved by each other and by our harness. In fact, only 
an all-merciful Providence has guided our steps to to- 
night's safety at our depot. I cannot describe ade- 
quately the mental and physical strain of the last 
forty-eight hours. When w^e started at 7 a. m. yester- 
day, we immediately got into soft snow, an uphill pull 
with hidden crevasses. The biscuit was all finished, and 
with only one pannikin of hoosh, mostly pony maize, 
and one of tea, we marched till noon. Then we had one 
pannikin of tea and one ounce of chocolate, and marched 
till 4:45 p. M. We had one pannikin of tea. There 
was no more food. We marched till 10 p. m., then one 
small pannikin of cocoa. Marched till 2 a. m., when 
we were played out. We had one pannikin of cocoa, 
and slept till 8 a. m. Then a pannikin of cocoa and we 
marched till 1 p. m. and camped, about half a mile 
from the depot. Marshall went on for food, and we got 
a meal at 2 p. m. We turned in and slept. Adams fell 
exhausted in his harness, but recovered and went on 
again. Wild did the same the night before." 
The following day he writes: 
"Thank God we are on the Barrier again at last.'' 
The entries grow more brief as the days slip by. 



322 The Seventh Continent 

Wild was taken very ill with dysentery and the others 
were hardly in better condition. 

On February 4th he comments: 

* ^ Cannot write more — All down with acute dysentery ; 
terrible day. No march possible, outlook serious. . . . 
Fine weather.'' 

And three days later: 

** Blowing hard blizzard. Kept going till 6 p. m. 
Dead tired. Short food ; very weak. ' ' 

On the 16th he says: 

*'We are so weak now that even to lift our depleted 
provisions bag is an effort. When we break camp in 
the morning we pull the tent off the poles and take it 
down before we move the things inside, for the effort 
of lifting the sleeping bags, etc., through the doorway 
is too great. At night when we have come to camp 
we sometimes have to lift our legs one at a time with 
both hands in getting into the tent. It seems a severe 
strain to lift one's feet without aid after we have stif- 
fened from the day's march. Our fingers are extremely 
painful. Some of us have big blisters that burst occa- 
sionally." 

The following day they marched nineteen miles in a 
blinding blizzard and 42° of frost, and at night were 
repeated the same dreams which had been theirs repeat- 
edly of food — always of food. 

Their hope of salvation lay in finding a depot of pro- 
visions which was to be placed at the Bluff by Joyce and 
men from the station, and on February 25th, while 
nearing the vicinity they came upon the tracks of four 
men going south. The next day they reached the Bluff 
Depot, where at last food in variety and abundance sat- 
isfied the hunger of the travellers. Though there were 



Shackleton's Sowthern Journey 323 

luxuries in abundance the enfeebled men found that 
after eating biscuit, two pannikins of pemmican fol- 
lowed by cocoa, their contracted bodies could stand no 
more and they were forced to stop. Though all the 
men made an effort not to overeat, three days later 
Marshall w^as taken seriously ill with paralysis of the 
stomach and renewed dysentery, and in the face of this 
serious situation a blizzard came on. 

The following two days, though suffering but always 
uncomplaining, Marshall kept on the march, but grew 
steadily worse and Shackleton decided to pitch camp 
and leave Marshall under Adams' care and push ahead 
with "Wild for speedy relief. Leaving everything behind 
except a prismatic compass, sleeping bags and food for 
one day, they pressed forward at 4:30 p. m., February 
28th and marched till 9 p. m., when they had some 
* ' Hoosh, ' ' then continued until 2 a. m. of the 28th when 
they stopped for an hour and a half off the northeast 
end of White Island, but got no sleep ; then they pressed 
on until 11 a. m., when the last of the food was fin- 
ished. In the hope of attracting attention from Obser- 
vation Hill, they kept flashing the heliograph, but re- 
ceived no response. At 2 :30 p. m. open water was 
sighted out four miles south of Cape Armitage; thick 
weather now enveloped them, at this juncture the ice 
over which they were making their way was swaying 
up and down and they were in grave danger of being 
carried out on it. They now abandoned their sledge 
for speed alone would save them and the need of shel- 
ter and food was imperative. 

**We clambered over crevasses and snow slopes,'' 
writes Shackleton, ''and after what seemed an almost 
interminable struggle reached Castle Rock, from whence 



324 The Seventh Continent 

I could see that there was open water all round to the 
north. It was indeed a different home-coming from 
what we had expected. Out on the Barrier and up on 
the plateau our thought had often turned to the day 
when we would get hack to the comfort and plenty of 
the winter quarters, but we had never imagined fighting 
our way to the hack door, so to speak, in such a cheerless 
fashion. We reached the top of Ski Slope at 7 :45 p. m., 
and from there we could see the hut and the bay. There 
was no sign of the ship, and no smoke or other evidence 
of life at the hut. We hurried on to the hut, our minds 
busy with gloomy possibilities, and found not a man 
there. There was a letter stating that the Northern 
Party had reached the Magnetic Pole and that all par- 
ties had been picked up except ours. The letter added 
that the ship would be sheltering under Glacier Tongue 
until February 26. It was February 28, and it was 
with very keen anxiety in our minds that we proceeded 
to search for food. If the ship was gone, our plight 
and that of the two men left out on the Barrier was a 
very serious one. 

**We improvised a cooking vessel, found oil and a 
Primus lamp, and had a good feed of biscuit, onions 
and plum pudding, which were amongst the stores left 
at the hut. We were utterly weary, but we had no 
sleeping gear, our bags having been left with the sledge 
and the temperature was very low. We found a piece 
of roofing felt which we wrapped round us, and then 
we sat up all night, the darkness being relieved only 
when we occasionally lighted the lamp in order to se- 
cure a little warmth. We tried to burn the magnetic 
hut in the hope of attracting attention from the ship, 
but we were not able to get it alight. We tried, too, to 



Shackleton's Southern Journey 325 

tie the Union Jack to Vince's cross, on the hill, but we 
were so played out that our cold fingers could not man- 
age the knots. It was a bad night for us, and we were 
glad indeed when the light came again. Then we man- 
aged to get a little warmer, and at 9 a. m. we got the 
magnetic hut alight, and put up the flag. All our fears 
vanished when in the distance we saw the ship miraged 
up. We signaled with the heliograph, and at 11 a. m., 
on March 1st, we were on board the 'Nimrod' and once 
more safe amongst friends. I will not attempt to de- 
scribe our feelings. Every one was glad to see us, and 
keen to know what we had done. They had given us up 
for lost, and a search party had been going to start 
that day in the hope of finding some trace of us." 

Now occurred one of the most extraordinary acts of 
heroism in the annals of Polar history and Shackleton 
makes so brief an entry of it, treats it so much as a mat- 
ter of natural sequence, that the reader's mind hardly 
grasps its true significance when reading the matter 
of fact account. 

Step by step of this Great Southern journey, with its 
hardships, its perils and its dangers, has been briefly 
sketched. The return over the 700 miles of desolate 
ice and snow, in the face of starvation and exhaustion 
has been outlined, and the last forced march for help is 
one of the greatest tests of endurance that human na- 
ture has ever undergone. With practically no sleep 
since February 27th, adding to the weariness and ex- 
haustion of the weeks and weeks of accumulated strain, 
Shackleton had hardly reached the shelter of the ship 
March 1st, when he started back to face the cutting 
South wind once again to bring in his loyal comrades 
lying in anxious anticipation of his coming far out on 



326 The Seventh Continent 

the Barrier ice. He says quite simply of this great act 
of endurance and self-sacrifice: 

''I ordered out a relief party at once. I had a good 
feed of bacon and fried bread, and started at 2 :30 p. m. 
from the Barrier edge with Mackay, Mawson and Mc- 
Gillan, leaving Wild on the 'Nimrod/ We marched 
until 10 p. M., had dinner and turned in for a short 
sleep. We were up again at 2 a. m. the next morning 
(March 2), and travelled until 1 p. m., when we reached 
the camp where I had left the two men. Marshall was 
better, the rest having done him a lot of good, and he 
was able to march and pull. After lunch we started 
back again, and marched until 8 p. m. in fine weather. 
We were under way again at 4 a. m. the next morning, 
had lunch at noon, and reached the ice-edge at 3 p. m. 
There was no sign of the ship, and the sea was freezing 
over. We waited until 5 p. m., and then found that it 
was possible to strike land at Pram Point. The weather 
was coming on bad, clouding up from the southeast, and 
Marshall was suffering from renewed dysentery, the 
result of the heavy marching. 

''We therefore abandoned one tent and one sledge at 
the ice edge, taking on only the sleeping bags and the 
specimens. We climbed up Crater Hill, leaving every- 
thing but the sleeping bags, for the weather was getting 
worse, and at 9:35 p. m. commenced to slide down 
towards Hut Point. We reached the winter quarters 
at 9:50 and Marshall was put to bed. Mackay and I 
lighted a carbide flare on the hill by Vince's cross, and 
after dinner all hands turned in except Mackay and 
myself. A short time after Mackay saw the ship ap- 
pear. It was now blowing a hard blizzard, but Mackin- 
tosh had seen our flare from a distance of nine miles. 



8hackleton*s Sauihern Journey 327 

Adams and I went on board the 'Nimrod,' and Adams, 
after surviving all the dangers of the interior of the 
Antarctic continent, was nearly lost within sight of 
safety. He slipped at the ice edge, owing to the fact 
that he was wearing new finnesko, and only just saved 
himself from going over. He managed to hang on until 
rescued by a party from the ship. A boat went back 
for Marshall and the others, and we were all safe on 
board at 1 a. m. on March 4th." 

During the return of the *'Nimrod," Shackleton 
traced the coast of the mainland for a distance of about 
50 miles south of Ballemy Island, to the southwest be- 
yond Cape North. 

Upon his return to England Lieutenant Shackleton 
received among other honours that of knighthood in 
recognition of the great results obtained. This reward 
was bestowed by the King for the first time on an ex- 
plorer of the Antarctic since the day of Sir James Clark 
Ross. 



CHAPTER Xyi 

HEROES OF THE ANTARCTIC 

THE question often has been asked : What tempts 
men to risk their lives not once, but twice, some- 
times many times, in the trackless wilderness of 
the Polar World ? And to this question the explorers 
themselves make varied answers. * ' Love of adventure, ' ' 
says one; '*A passion for science," says another; *'a 
combination of the two," a third may claim; humaji 
ambition to excel his fellowmen; the indescribable lure 
of the unknown ; the desire to see with human eyes that 
which no man has ever seen before ; to wrest from Na- 
ture her most hidden secrets ; to indulge that great pas- 
sion which is at the foundation of all human knowledge 
— man's natural and insatiable curiosity. Whatever 
may be the motive or the combination of motives that 
prompt men to try not once but many times to over- 
come the almost insurmountable obstacles that await the 
adventurer in the frozen zones, they go back with con- 
fidence and in all hardihood, weighing lightly against 
the goal of their ambitions, the sufferings they must 
endure, the privations, the painful accidents, the tor- 
ture of frozen limbs, the agonies of slow starvation and 
the probability always hovering near that their best ef- 
forts may avail nothing and their puny human strength 
be snuffed out by the hand of death. 

The names of the men who have entered the ranks, 

328 



Heroes of the Antarctic 329 

flying banners of the North Star and the Southern 
Cross are constantly repeated in the victories won. 
There is the mysterious call borne on the icy winds that 
lures them. back. Once an explorer of the Arctic or Ant- 
arctic Zone, always at heart the rover of the frozen 
world; the spirit of its mysterious claim is never lost; 
the eye kindles at its memories the voice softens as he 
narrates a past experience. Thus we find men going 
back to try once more to do the thing no man has done 
before, and year by year the Arctic and Antarctic have 
claimed their heavy toll of human sacrifice — but not the 
sordid sacrifice to Mammon that gathers in its hordes 
of human victims in gentler climes — rather the votaries 
of a distinct cult, who go forth to do the thing they 
have set their minds to do because they cannot help it. 
The rewards of success, weighed by the standards of a 
sordid world, are nothing, the popular acclaim, perhaps 
the unstinted praise to-day, the voice of which is lost 
upon the light zephyrs of a heedless world to-morrow. 

Men do great things because they themselves are great, 
and not because a pigmy may stand upon the curb to 
gape at them. The example which these men set before 
the world, of steadfastness of purpose, of self-sacrifice, 
of single-hearted devotion to a cause, of loyalty to 
friendships, the tender care of enfeebled and dying com- 
panions, when the stress of conditions under which 
these tests are made almost justify less nobleness, and in 
many cases the heroic tragedy of their untimely death, 
are more potent in the results upon the human mind 
than mere scientific data. 

The layman needs these examples of the great quali- 
ties latent in the heart of man. In the stress of his 
every day existence he grows to disbelieve in their real- 



330 The Seventh Continent 

ity, and it is only through the medium of some untoward 
event that he once more is brought face to face with 
their significance. 

Thus we find Captain Robert F. Scott in the spring 
of 1910 busily occupied in furthering the departure of 
another British Antarctic expedition. Captain Scott 
had planned this expedition with the utmost detail and 
thoughtfulness. Through the public press he had ex- 
plained the manner in which he desired to conduct his 
enterprise, and aided by the members of the Royal Geo- 
graphical Society and other learned bodies, a subscrip- 
tion fund of $200,000 was raised to promote the expedi- 
tion. The ''Terra Nova," a Dundee whaling ship, was 
selected and refitted. Prior to her last voyage she 
had made several trips to Arctic waters and had proved 
her efficiency in ice navigation. Captain Scott made 
every preparation for the equipment towards achieving 
the great results he hoped from his undertaking. He 
carried with him three newly devised motor sledges in- 
tended for ice travel, as well as the usual dog sledges. 

' ' The problem of reaching the South Pole from a win- 
tering station is purely one of transport," wrote Cap- 
tain Scott before his departure. "The distance to be 
covered there and back is about 1,500 miles. The time 
at the disposal of an explorer in a single season never 
exceeds 150 travelling days. An average of ten miles 
a day can easily be maintained by men of good physique, 
provided adequate transport facilities are made." 

Accompanying him was a carefully selected crew, and 
a highly efficient scientific staff. Scott 's plan was to ar- 
range two parties, one to leave King Edward Land, the 
other to leave McMurdo Sound, to converge on the Pole. 
Captain Scott purposed to follow his own track and that 



Heroes of the Antarctic 331 

of Sir Ernest Shackleton, except for the last hundred 
miles. 

The ''Terra Nova" left England June 1, 1910, and 
sailed for New Zealand. Captain Scott joined the party 
at Port Chalmers, near Christchurch, and the final de- 
parture southward was made November 29, 1910. The 
personnel of the shore party and crew numbered fifty 
men, of which twenty-four officers and men were of the 
Royal Navy, one from the Army and two from the Pub- 
lic Services of India. The "Terra Nova" encountered 
bad weather and heavy seas from the outset, and was 
over three weeks in pushing her way through 380 miles 
of pack ice. 

By January 1st, 1911, she stood in open water in Ross 
Sea and sighted the Admiralty Mountains, Victoria 
Land two days later. Pushing her way southward she 
passed Cape Crozier and reached McMurdo Sound, 
where winter quarters were established distant about 
fourteen miles north of Discovery Station, where the first 
Scott expedition had wintered, and eight miles to the 
south of Cape Royds. 

The work of landing stores proved exceedingly ardu- 
ous as the distance of transportation was a mile and a 
half. Ponies, dogs and motor sledges were utilized by 
the men to assist in transportation and at the end of 
a week the main work had been completed and the build- 
ing of the house was begun. 

The ''Terra Nova" left Scott making ready for his 
preliminary journeys southward. She steamed east- 
ward and surveyed the Great Ice Barrier as far as 170^ 
West longitude, when a gale forced her to make for 
Cape Colbeck, where her further progress to the east 
was prevented by the pack. On the 4th of February 



332 The Seventh Continent 

the ''Terra Nova" entered the Bay of Whales and there 
found the ' ' Fram ' ' of the Amundsen Antarctic Expedi- 
tion. She then returned to the depot laying party and 
found all well. 

A scientific party under Lieutenant Campbell was left 
in the Antarctic by the ''Terra Nova" when she re- 
turned on April 1st. This party was prepared to win- 
ter there if necessary ; they included Campbell, Priestly, 
Levicki, Browning, Abbott and Dickerson. 

From the first Captain Scott seemed to have worked 
against great odds. The depot laying party which left 
Cape Evans January 25th 1911, consisting of twelve 
men, eight ponies, and two dog teams, made the most 
difficult progress over the soft surface of the barrier and 
experienced a blizzard which exhausted both men and 
beasts and resulted in the loss of two ponies. 

On February 24th Captain Scott started with men 
and a single pony to establish a supply depot at Cor- 
ner Camp. On the outward journey they passed the 
ponies going well. Again blizzards delayed the return 
to camp and when Scott returned he found the animals 
had suffered so severely that a prompt retreat to Hut 
Point was at once ordered. Of this journey to shelter 
Captain Scott has given a most graphic account. Two 
of his men with a dog team reached there safely. One 
of the ponies had been injured during the blizzard and 
Captain Scott, Bates and Grain remained behind in con- 
sequence. 

Another party, consisting of Cherry, Gerrard, Bowers 
and Crean with the dogs and four ponies had to fight 
their way across the disintegrating ice pack, barely es- 
caping with their lives. 

The Western Geographical party which landed at 



Heroes of the Antarctic 333 

Butter Point, below Farrar Glacier, January 27, 1911, 
had made a depot at Cathedral Bocks, and from this 
base they took a sledge journey westward for miles 
down the glacier. At an altitude of twenty-four hundred 
feet above the glacier a crater was discovered and basalt 
flows in places eighty feet in depth. From the glacier 
they entered a dry, snow-free valley trending toward 
the sea. A fresh-water lake was discovered estimated 
about four miles in length. On February 13th, they 
returned down the Farrar Glacier and crossed the dan- 
gerous ice of New Harbor. Ten days later they were 
in the vicinity of the west coast of Keottlitz Glacier, 
where a week was spent in examining the locality. 
Travel became more and more dangerous owing to al- 
most impenetrable pinnacles of ice, northesist of Daily 
Islands. Blizzards overtook them at the edge of the 
Barrier, and here they were marooned until the vio- 
lence of the gale subsided. They then endeavored to 
reach Castle Rock — and finally reached Discovery Hut 
after an absence of six weeks. 

The Western party again set out on November 7, 1911, 
for Granite Harbor. Owing to the exceptionally heavy 
loads which they carried, they made the slow progress 
of about five miles a day, being forced to relay the dis- 
tance to a cape about nine miles inside the harbor. 

Building a stone hut and erecting a store as a base 
for scientific operations they devoted the next two 
months to exploring the northern shores and sledging 
around West Harbor where remarkably large mineral 
deposits such as topaz were discovered. Another curious 
discovery at their headquarters was that of myriads of 
wingless insects of two distinct varieties which clustered 
in a half frozen condition under every stone. 



334 The Seventh Continent 

Meanwhile Captain Scott had been completing his 
preparations for his final journey to the Pole. On Nov- 
ember 2nd, 1911 the final start was made. What he 
expected to accomplish on this great journey was de- 
scribed by himself and brought back to England by the 
"Terra Nova" as his final word. 

''The pony party," he wrote, ''consisting of myself 
with Wilson, Bates, Bowers, Gerrard, Atkinson, 
Wright, Evans, Crean and Keohane, will start about 
Nov. 1st. Independently of the success of the motors, 
ponies will be worked with light loads in easy marches 
to Corner Camp, with full loads and easy marches to 
One Ton Camp, and with such pressure as necessary 
thereafter. Dog teams starting will rejoin us at One 
Ton Camp and help to advance loads. By these means 
we hope to get thirty units of food to the foot of the 
Beardmore Glacier, a unit being a week's provision 
for four men. Then, with three divisions of four men, 
and twenty-one units of provisions, I hope to extend the 
advance to the required distance, if the weather con- 
ditions are not wholly unfavorable. 

"Of the ten remaining ponies one is unreliable and 
one doubtful, the remainer being in very fine form. 
Officers and men are in splendid health and eager to go 
forward. Owing to my decision to postpone there is an 
obvious chance that the most advanced southerly party 
will be unable to reach the 'Terra Nova' before she 
is forced to quit the Sound. Under these conditions, 
having regard to important scientific work done and 
facilities offered for further work, I have decided to 
maintain the station for a second year. The majority 
of the shore party will probably remain, but details de- 
pend upon the date of our returning from our journey 



Heroes of the Antarctic 335 

on home news and the extent of fresh transport pro- 
vided." 

Another message reached the world in 1912. On 
November 24, Scott wrote the party had reached Cor- 
ner Camp. The dog sledge party caught up with Scott's 
party before it reached One Ton Camp and they jour- 
neyed in company. The precaution of building snow 
cairns at intervals of four miles was to guide the return. 
Caches of provisions were left at intervals. 

At 81° 15' the motor party turned back. 

Bad weather seemed to persist from the outset. It 
soon became necessary to sacrifice some of the ponies to 
feed the dogs. 

December 4th, 1911, the party had reached 83.24, 
about twelve miles distant from Mount Hope. Day by 
day these men plodded on, in the face of snows, storms 
and gales. We have read Shackleton's brave struggle 
with like conditions ; in imagination we can picture Scott 
moving steadily, laboriously southward. 

On December 9th the remaining ponies were sacrificed 
as there was no forage for them. 

As the main party advanced, sections of the support- 
ing parties turned back. Day and Hooper, who had 
left Scott first, returned safely to Camp, January 21st; 
a week later, Atkinson, Wright, Gerrard and Keohane 
showed up. 

On December 21st, Captain Scott had reached just 
beyond 85° South, longitude 163.04 East, and an alti- 
tude 6,800 feet. 

On January 3rd, 1912, he was within 150 miles of the 
South Pole, when he sent back the following message: 

''I am going forward with a party of five men, send- 
ing three back under Lieutenant Evans with this note. 



336 The Seventh Continent 

The names and descriptions of the advance party are: 
Capt. Scott, R.N., Dr. Wilson, Chief of the scientific 
staif; Captain Gates, Inniskillen Dragoons, in charge 
of the ponies and mules; Lieutenant Bowers, Royal In- 
dian Marine, commissariat officer; Petty Officer Evans, 
R.N., in charge of sledges and equipment. 

**The advance party goes forward with a month's pro- 
visions and the prospects of success seem good, provid- 
ing the weather holds and no unforeseen obstacles arise. 
It has been very difficult to choose the advance party, as 
every one was fit and able to go forward. Those who 
return are naturally much disappointed. Every one 
has worked his hardest. The weather on the plateau 
has been good, on the whole. The sun has never de- 
serted us, but the temperatures are low, now about minus 
twenty degrees, and the wind pretty constant. How- 
ever, we are excellently equipped for such conditions, 
and the wind undoubtedly improves the surface. So 
far all arrangements have worked out most satisfac- 
torily. It is more than probable no further news will 
be received from us this year, as our return must neces- 
sarily be late." 

In the light of subsequent events there is something 
very sad and touching in this last message before the 
final dash to the Pole. Lieutenant Evans and his com- 
panions bore it painfully, faithfully, in the face of 
scurvy and sickness, back over the frozen ice sheets 
through snow and storm to the Discovery Hut. *'Our 
return must necessarily be late": the words were a 
prophecy which he bravely and heroically fulfilled. 

Meanwhile across those frozen wastes there were oth 
ers facing with the same courage, the same endurance 
and with the same ambitions the great goal lying silent, 



Heroes of the Antarctic 337 

cold and desolate under the emblem of the Southern 
Cross. 

The ' * Terra Nova ' ' had found the Norwegian Expedi- 
tion in the Bay of Whales. The **Fram" is an his- 
toric ship; already she had carried two successful ex- 
peditions to the Arctic regions. She had been admir- 
ably fitted out under the direction of Roald Amundsen 
and with especial equipment for an extended oceano- 
graphical cruise. 

Amundsen as a veteran Polar explorer and successful 
navigator of the Northwest Passage, had accompanied a 
previous expedition to the South Polar regions. His 
original plan, however, in equipping another expedition 
for scientific research in Polar waters was not to ven- 
ture south but to continue work beyond the Arctic Cir- 
cle. How the change of program was inaugurated 
which finally resulted in one of the greatest achievements 
on record is best told by himself. 

"I was preparing my trip toward the North Polar 
regions," Amundsen has explained, "it may be to the 
North Pole — in 1909. It was not very easy to start 
an expedition from Norway, for it was hard work among 
us to raise money and I was preparing this expedition 
slowly. Then suddenly the news flashed all over the 
world that the North Pole had been attained, that Ad- 
miral Peary had planted the Stars and Stripes up there. 
The money, which had been scarce, now went down to 
nothing. I could not get a cent more, and I was in the 
midst of my preparations. 

**One of the last mysterious points of the globe had 
been discovered. The last one still remained undis- 
covered, and then it was that I took the decision to turn 
from the north toward the south in order to try to dig- 



338 The Seventh Continent 

cover this last problem in the polar regions." 

Amundsen's party made a successful landing on the 
Ross Barrier in longitude 162° W. about fifty miles to 
the west of Edward Land. He established his winter 
quarters at a station which he appropriately called 
Framheim, and there in good health and spirits he and 
his sturdy companions passed a cheerful and busy sea- 
son. 

The effect of Amundsen's personality, his rugged fea- 
tures blending with an alert expression and a genial 
laugh, the high qualities of absolute fearlessness and 
directness of purpose, combine to impress one with the 
undaunted spirit of the Viking, the single directness of 
a well ordered mind, combining the loyal and compas- 
sionate qualities of a human heart. 

The Norwegian expedition relied on the most primi- 
tive methods for its success, favored by unusually good 
conditions of weather and ice. 

"Amundsen's victory is not due," says Nansen, 'Ho 
the great inventions of the present day and the many 
new appliances of every kind. The means used are 
of immense antiquity, the same as were kno^vn to the 
nomad thousands of years ago, when he pushed for- 
ward across the snow-covered plains of Siberia and 
Northern Europe. But everything, great and small, 
was thoroughly thought out, and the plan was splen- 
didly executed. It is the man that matters, here as 
everywhere. . . . Both the plan and its execution are 
the ripe fruit of Norwegian life and experience in 
ancient and modern times," and he comments, ''Like 
everything great, it all looks so plain and simple." 

Amundsen had placed his chief reliance for trans- 
portation of equipment and supplies on the service of 



Heroes of the Antarctic 339 

dogs. Nearly one hundred of these animals had been 
secured from Greenland, and these had increased in 
numbers during the long voyage of nearly 16,000 miles 
through many waters and climes. 

The slogan *'Dogs first and all the time," seems to 
have inspired the men from the start and the greatest 
care was taken of these canine friends who occupied 
every available foot of room upon the decks and were 
tethered upon the bridge as well. Amundsen's pre- 
vious experience in the Arctic as well as his Norwegian 
training as a disciple of Nansen had convinced him 
of the importance depending on dogs in all human ef- 
forts to reach high latitudes. Their superiority over 
ponies was demonstrated by their being able to cross 
more easily the snow ridges that span the dangerous 
crevasses of the Barrier. Shackleton's experience in 
the loss of a pony in a crevasse, its weight carrying it 
entirely out of sight in the icy abyss, makes the useful- 
ness of these animals a mooted question. The extra ex- 
ertion of hauling out a pony, if he can be saved at all 
would necessarily tell heavily upon the strength of men, 
where vigour might already be impaired by prolonged 
strain. Another important factor in favor of dog teams 
is the fact that dog eats dogs in case of emergency, 
whereas extra food must be carried to support ponies 
during the entire journey. In placing his confidence 
on the superiority of dog teams Amundsen says: 

* * One can reduce one 's pack little by little, slaughter- 
ing the feebler ones and feeding the chosen with them. 
In this way they get fresh meat. Our dogs lived on 
dog's flesh and pemmican the whole way, and this en- 
abled them to do splendid work." 

From Amundsen's Winter quarters at Framheim to 



340 The Seventh Continent 

the South Pole was a distance of 870 miles. To cover 
this distance and return, the party of five men took 
provisions for four months, with four sledges, drawn 
by fifty-two dogs. Amundsen left Framheim on Octo- 
ber 20th, 1911, and was absent three months and five 
days, returning to headquarters with two sledges and 
eleven dogs January 25th, 1912. 

When one recalls the uneven surfaces over which 
the route was followed, the high altitude of the undu- 
lating plateau, the mountainous region to be crossed 
before the goal could be reached and the herculean ex- 
ertions which Shackleton had made to reach that goal, 
and been obliged to turn back, one marvels that these 
Norwegian vikings returned with any dogs at all, nev- 
ertheless, man and beasts not only returned safely but 
in excellent condition. To be sure Amundsen was sin- 
gularly favored. There were few accidents. Neverthe- 
less they encountered blizzards and were weather bound 
in their tents on more than one occasion. 

On December the 9th they passed the record of the 
** Furthest South." Amundsen writes with enthusiasm 
of Sir Ernest Shackleton whose name, he says ''will al- 
ways be written in the annals of Antarctic exploration 
in letters of fire," and now he adds: 

"We had a great piece of work before us that day; 
nothing less than carrying our flag further south than 
the foot of man had trod. We had our silk flag ready ; 
it was made fast to two ski sticks and laid on Hansen's 
sledge. I had given him orders as soon as we had cov- 
ered the distance to 88 degrees 23 minutes south, which 
was Shackleton 's furthest south, the flag was to be hoist- 
ed on his sledge. It was my turn as forerunner, and I 
pushed on. There was no longer any difficulty in hold- 



Heroes of the Antarctic 341 

ing one's course. I had the grandest cloud formation 
to steer by, and everything now went like a machine. 
First came the forerunner for the time being, then Han- 
sen, then Wisting, and finally Bjaaland. The forerun- 
ner who was not on duty went where he liked; as a 
rule he accompanied one or other of the sledges. I had 
long ago fallen into a reverie — far removed from the 
scene in which I was moving; what I thought about I 
do not remember now, but I was so preoccupied that 
I had entirely forgotten my surroundings. Then sud- 
denly I was aroused from my dreaming by a jubilant 
shout, followed by ringing cheers. I turned round 
quickly to discover the reason of this unwonted occur- 
rence and stood speechless and overcome. 

**I find it impossible to express the feelings that pos- 
sessed me at the moment. All the sledges had stopped 
and from the foremost of them the Norwegian flag was 
flying. It shook itself out, waved and flapped so that 
the silk rustled ; it looked wonderfully well in the pure 
clear air and the shining white surroundings. Eighty- 
eight degrees and 23 minutes was passed; we were 
further south than any human being had been. No 
other moment of the whole trip affected me like this. 
The tears forced their way to my eyes; by no effort 
of will could I keep them back. It was the flag yonder 
that conquered me and my will. Luckily I was some 
way in advance of the others, so that I had time to pull 
myself together and master my feelings before reach- 
ing my comrades. We all shook hands with mutual con- 
gratulations ; we had won our way far by holding to- 
gether and we would go further yet — to the end." 

The distant horizon which Shackleton had seen with 
regretful eyes, Amundsen now saw. The road was 



342 The Seventh Continent 

straight ahead, there to the south lay their goal. As 
was the case in Peary's final success, so it was with 
Amundsen, nothing untoward happened. No obstacles 
hindered them, the weather favored them and on De- 
cember 14th the greatest day of all they experienced 
that sense of nervousness incident to great expectations 
that were soon to be realized. 

At the annual banquet of the National Geographical 
Society held in Washington, January 11, 1913, 
Admiral Peary, the discoverer of the North Pole, 
presented the gold medal of the Society to Amundsen, 
the discoverer of the South Pole, and paid a gracious tri- 
bute to the ''man who forced his way across hundreds 
of miles of icy Antarctic waste, climbed thousands of 
feet into the frozen Antarctic air, and stood at last 
more than two miles above sea level, with a frozen desert 
stretching from his feet to the horizon, and the yellow 
sun circling parallel with the horizon, at the South Pole 
— ^Amundsen, of Norway." 



CHAPTER XVII 

EXPLORERS FROM MANY LANDS 

THE spirit of emulation is so great in man that 
be he Oriental or Occidental he is led to attempt 
the most difficult tasks from his natural desire to 
do what others have tried to do before him; this spirit 
of indomitable courage has a fine example in that af- 
forded by Lieutenant Shirase, the leader of the First 
Japanese Polar Expedition. His government had given 
him scant support, and his countrymen felt likewise that 
Japan was in no position at the time to advance money 
for adventurous exploration, nor was it considered in 
their line of national development. 

**But now,'* writes Lieutenant Shirase, **the govern- 
ment and my countrymen think differently and better of 
their own qualification as explorers, and those who con- 
tributed money to our cause in the belief that they were 
throwing it away for nothing, are convinced that our 
expedition to the Antarctic regions was not after all 
mere wasting of time and money. To summarize our 
journey: we left the country out of favor of the people 
and were welcomed back into public favor and recogni- 
tion. 

''In 1912," he continues, "I requested 100,000 yen 
($50,000) from the Diet as a fund for my prospective 
polar expedition. The bill was passed by the Lower 
House, but it was reduced to $15,000 at the Upper 

343 



344 The Seventh Continent 

House. Whereon I applied to the Educational Office 
for its financial assistance to what I believed would 
have much educational value. I then carefully ex- 
plained that that sum of money would fit out our party 
with complete and efficient equipment. The govern- 
ment officials simply laughed at my proposition. They 
advised us to abandon our foolish notion and leave the 
pole to European explorers who have more money and 
far superior physique. 

''There was no use in tarrying with the Government. 
I might as well argue with dumb Buddhist idols as 
with Government officials. 

"As the last recourse, I applied to the public for its 
sympathy and support; and it responded. The press 
took it up with enthusiasm. One journal of Tokyo 
raised by itself $2,500. 

"A sailing ship was purchased. She was christened 
'Kainan-maru' ('Southern Pioneer') and was imme- 
diately fitted up for the polar voyage. 

"The party was made up with twenty-seven men, in- 
cluding two Ainus, and a pack of thirty Ainu dogs. 

"The ship in which we made the voyage was the 
smallest vessel that has ever plowed the polar waters. 
The 'Kainan-maru' was built of oak and her sides were 
only 2 feet high. She measured 100 feet by 25 feet, 
and displaced 204 tons. Besides schooner rigging, she 
was provided with an engine of 18 horse power. At last, 
toward the end of 1910, we were ready for departure 
for the South Pole. 

"Amid scornful criticism and ominous predictions," 
writes Lieutenant Shirase, "as to the outcome or fate 
of our voyage, the 'Southern Pioneer' set sail from 
Tokyo Bay December 1st, 1910. It was the saddest and 



Explorers from Many Lands 345 

most dismal sort of a send-off ever accorded to any- 
polar explorer." 

This small craft, under the masterful seamanship of 
Captain Normura, steered her course of some 30,000 
miles without serious accident. 

After a long voyage to New Zealand, Captain Nor- 
mura and several others were sent back to raise more 
funds and it was not until November 19, 1911, that the 
Japan expedition made a fresh start for the Polar seas. 
She encountered the ice between 63° and 64° S. She 
arrived in the bay in 78° S. and 146° E., which was 
given the name of ''Kainan Bay," and drifting west- 
ward about 40 miles succeeded in effecting a landing. 
Later members of the expedition discovered the *'Fram" 
and near by Captain Amundsen's camp some six miles 
west of them. At that time members of the Amundsen 
party were waiting for his return from the Pole. At 
the place where the Japanese had decided to land, there 
rose to a height of 300 feet the perpendicular face of 
the Barrier. To scale this ''so-called insurmountable 
barrier" was the determination of the men. 

''We set to cutting a zig-zag path upon the almost 
perpendicular slope," writes Lieutenant Shirase. "The 
whole crew worked body and soul, and at length, after 
sixty hours' hard labor, the first man was at the top 
of the wall or precipice. The crew of the 'Fram,' 
which had followed our attempt at first with ridicule, 
then gave us hearty praise of our achievement. 

"A party of four men, including myself, remained 
on the ice-field, while the rest sailed away to explore 
King Edward VII Land. This latter party was by- 
far more fortunate and successful. A cruise of about 
200 miles brought them safely to King Edward VII 



346 The Seventh Continent 

Land, — the land where the Japanese flag was the first 
to be unfurled. 

"When the ship was brought near the icy shore, a 
rock was seen frozen in a pack-ice and drifting along 
the shore. The rock was hauled aboard and brought 
back. We have the pride to announce that it was the 
first rock that has ever been brought back from that 
shore. 

'*An exploring party was landed, which travelled 30 
miles into the interior. 

''The rest of our voyage," writes Lieutenant Shirase, 
''may be summarized in brief. The party reunited at 
Whales Inlet, and started homeward via Sidney. The 
'Southern Pioneer' returned to Tokyo, on the 20th of 
last June (1912). The people who sent us off with per- 
fect ridicule and scorn came out in a body to give us 
spontaneous orations and a hearty welcome to home." 

Other contemporaneous expeditions in the Antarctic 
were the Australian expedition under Dr. Douglas 
Mawson. A German expedition under Lieutenant Dr. 
Filchner, and the Argentine expedition whose special 
object was to continue meteorological and magnetical 
work initiated by the Scottish expedition at Scotia Bay 
in 1903, and continued by the Oficina Meteorologica 
Argentina since 1904 at an annual cost of about 6,000 1. 

"The work of the German expedition," writes Dr. 
William S. Bruce, ' ' lies in the Weddell Sea in longi- 
tudes west of Coats' Land, Dr. Filchner having gener- 
ally agreed with the writer that the region to the east 
of this should be left for the proposed Scottish expedi- 
tion. If, however, the Germans fail on account of con- 
ditions of ice or other difficulties to carry on their work 
to the west of this longitude, it is quite understood that 



Explorers from Many Lands 347 

they are to be free to work to the eastward. 

''The area of the unknown Antarctic regions," con- 
tinues Mr. Bruce, *'is so vast that there is plenty of 
room for all comers, and more especially so if there is 
a division of labour in the work. There are two promi- 
nent theories of the structure of Antarctic lands. 
Filchner bases the plan of his expedition upon the theory 
held by himself, Dr. Peuck, Dr. Otto Nordenskjold, Sir 
George Darwin and others, that there are two Antarctic 
land masses which are divided from each other by a 
channel possibly covered by a continuation of the Ross 
Barrier running across the Ross Sea to the Weddell 
Sea, thus dividing Graham Land from the rest of the 
land. The other prominent theory, which has for long 
been held by Sir John Murray and is supposed by Sir 
Ernest Shackleton, Dr. Mawson, and myself, is that 
there is one great Antarctic continental land mass with 
no such division across it. A third theory, held by 
Dr. Nansen, is that the Antarctic Land is composed of 
an archipelago of islands. In a paper delivered to 
Der Schweizerischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft at 
Basel in 1910, I summarized my reasons for holding the 
view that there was one great Antarctic continent. Hav- 
ing a definite theory of the structure of the Antarctic 
continent, Filchner sets out to test the accuracy of it. 
His confidence augurs well for the success of the Ger- 
man expedition." 

*'I have had word from Lieutenant Dr. Filchner and 
Dr. Heim, geologist to the expedition," continues Mr. 
Bruce. ''They inform me that they have so far had 
a successful voyage, having landed at St. Paul's Rocks, 
and having already taken as many as eighty soundings. 
Several of them appear to have been taken in the neigh- 



348 The Seventh Continent 

borhood of South Georgia and the South Sandwich 
Group, and these will form a most important contribu- 
tion to the study of former Antarctic continental con- 
nections with South America. * Storm and stress of 
weather hindered every attempt at landing on the South 
Sandwich Group,' and in this connection it is interest- 
ing to note that this heavy weather was previously pre- 
dicted by Mr. R. C. Mossman at Buenos Aires. 

''Prof. Peuck, who has been good enough to furnish 
me with much useful information, says: 'Reaching the 
pole does not form a special feature of the programme.' 
He also writes that Filchner will establish a station to 
the west of Coats' Land, and will not leave the Ant- 
arctic regions until the summer of 1913-1914. 

"Quite extensive geological excursions were made in 
South Georgia, which were facilitated by Captain Lar- 
sen lending the German expedition his 500 ton yacht 
'Urdine.' The Germans have found that South Georgia 
is a folded mountain range, probably part of Faltenge- 
birge of the South American Andes and Graham Land. 
The tuffs :^und by Gunnar Andersen in 1902 are found 
to be old Mesozoic and young Paleozoic tuffs. Dr. Ko- 
nig found an ammonite in the slate of Possession Bay. 
Bad weather prevented pendulum observations, but 
earth magnetic elements were determined. 

"It took from November 1 to 14 to go from South 
Georgia to the South Sandwich Group. A course was 
first steered to Lieskow Island; the ' Deutschland ' then 
passed Candlemas Island, and left the group at Zava- 
dowskij Island. Some of these islands are extinct, and 
others active, volcanoes. The rocks appeared to be 
bas'altic. Volcanic sand containing fragments was se- 
cured by sounding. Meteorological and other observa- 



Explorers from Marty Lands 349 

tions were made and it is especially interesting to note 
that for the first time in Antarctic regions balloons- 
sondes, as used by the Prince of Monaco in Spitsber- 
gen, were employed, since in South Georgia sixty-five 
of these balloons were released. These were traced to 
a height of 9 kilometers, or 29,528 ft., and should give 
valuable information regarding the higher atmctephere 
in the south polar regions. 

** Whether Filchner succeeds in pushing far to the 
south to the west of Coats' Land, where he believes he 
will be able to land on a barrier similar to and con- 
tinuous with the Ross Barrier, depends on the state of 
the ice in the Weddell Sea, and Mossman unfortunately 
predicts a series of bad ice years. If Filchner meets 
the pack as Ross met it in 1842-43, and as the Scot- 
tish expeditions met it in 1892-93 and in 1902-03, in 
which latter season also Nordenskj old's ship, the 'Ant- 
arctic,' was crushed and lost, he will not attain a high 
latitude to the west of Coats' Land, but if he has an 
open summer, as Morrell and Weddell had in 1822-23, 
he will get far south, and will fall in with land some- 
where about 75° S., if the supposed rift valley from 
the Ross Sea does not exist. Filchner will also in all 
probability then be able to prove the existence or non- 
existence of New South Greenland, discovered by Cap- 
tain Johnson in 1821-22 and revisited and described 
by Morrell in 1822-23, the summer Weddell attained the 
high latitude of 74° 15' S. in those longitudes. If 
Filchner falls in with New South Greenland it will al- 
most preclude the possibility of the existence of the sug- 
gested ice-covered strait cutting across Antarctica from 
the Ross to the Weddell Sea. Altogether, the German 
expedition has most interesting and fascinating prob- 



350 The Seventh Continent 

lems to solve, and with such a good ship — the 'Deutsch- 
land' — with such excellent equipment and staff, and so 
competent a leader, should not fail to bring us back 
much valuable information. 

''The Australian expedition," continues Mr. Bruce, 
''under the able leadership of Dr. Douglas Mawson, is 
on a different plan from any of the others in the field, 
and in that it will do not only a considerable amount 
of hydrographical work, but will also make deep sea 
biological research a special feature, it resembles more 
the general plan of the late Scottish expedition. In fact, 
the 'Aurora's' trawling gear is much the same as that 
used by the 'Scotia,' and she carries with her the 'Sco- 
tia's' quick- working winch, which was used for hauling 
up the sounding apparatus, the deep-sea water bottles 
and thermometers, and vertical plankton net. Mawson 
also emphasizes meteorology, especially in relationship 
to Australia. 

"The 'Aurora,' which was refitted in London under 
the guidance of Captain Davis — who is her master, and 
was previously master of the 'Nimrod' — left Hobart on 
December 2 (1911) and pushed south-eastward, calling 
at the Macquarie Islands on December 21st, after which 
Mawson intended to land a party west of Cape North, 
directly north of the magnetic pole. This party will 
hope to complete the magnetic data yet wanting in the 
vicinity of the south magnetic pole. Proceeding east- 
ward, a second party will be landed at Clarie Land, and 
a third at Knox Land. These parties, by man, dog, and 
motor sledges, will seek to map out the coast land to 
the east and west of their respective stations. The voy- 
age is then to be prolonged westward about the latitude 
of the Antarctic Circle as far as Enderby Land, whence 



Explorers from Many Lands 351 

the 'Aurora' will return to Fremantle. 

**The prograiimie is a very ambitious one," comments 
Bruce, **and Mawson may rest well satisfied if he lands 
but one party and carries out a general investigation of 
this little known and much disputed coast, including 
oceanographical and meteorological survey. In 70° E., 
viz., the longitude of Kerguelen Island, an attempt will 
be made to penetrate southward as well as in longitude 
of the magnetic pole. Mawson regards this part of the 
Antarctic continent to which his efforts are to be di- 
rected as by far the most important portion of Ant- 
arctica yet to be explored. He points out that 'along 
the whole 2,000 miles of coast between Cape Adare and 
Gaussberg a landing has been made once only, and then 
but a few hours, by D'Urville's expedition in 1840. 
Only a few vessels have come within sight of this coast, 
and practically none since the days of d'Urville and 
Wilkes.' 

"Mr. Alfred Reid tells me that lack of coal may ren- 
der it necessary for the 'Aurora' to put into Kerguelen 
for ballast on her return to Fremantle under canvas. 
In April (1912) the 'Aurora' will again go south with 
a number of Australian men of science in order to carry 
out dredging and sounding in seas between Australia 
and Antarctica, and in December the 'Aurora' will 
proceed south once more to pick up Dr. Mawson and 
his colleagues at the three stations. 

"Mawson carries with him an aeroplane and certified 
air pilot, and has, like Filchner, an installation of wire- 
less telegraphy. The expedition, which carries a crew 
and staff of fifty persons, is well supported by the Aus- 
tralian and British Governments and by private enter- 
prise. Mawson is a geologist of the first order and a 



352 The Seventh Continent 

trained magnetic observer, and with Shackleton's expe- 
dition gained an intimate insight into the geology of 
Antarctica and its relationship to Australasian geology. 
He is an enthusiast and his plans are original and well 
thought out. Mawson is well supported by Captain 
Davis and an excellent scientific staff." 

The latest news of this expedition was received from 
Sydney, N. S., February 25th, 1913. According to this 
report the principal objects of this expedition had been 
attained. 

Unfortunately Dr. Mawson and six of his compan- 
ions, after they had been picked up by the ''Aurora," 
undertook another journey and were unable to rejoin 
their ship and therefore compelled to remain another 
winter in the Antarctic. 

A wireless message from Adelie Land received by 
Prof. David, contained the following information: 

'*Dr. Douglas Mawson and several of his men missed 
the 'Aurora,' which had gone to fetch them under the 
command of Captain J. K. Davis. This happened owing 
to unfortunate circumstances. 

"Lieut. B. E. S. Ninnis of the City of London, Regi- 
ment of Royal Fusiliers, and Dr. Mertz, who was ski 
champion of Switzerland in 1908, are both dead. All 
the others are well. 

"Dr. Mawson and six others of his party probably 
will winter on Adelie Land. 

"Some very successful sledging expeditions wene 
made during the sojourn of Dr. Mawson and his com- 
panions in the Antarctic." 

In the last chapter we left Captain Scott making his 
brave fight to reach the South Pole, which even then 
seemed within his grasp. That was in January, 1912, 



Explorers from Many Lands 353 

On February 10th, 1913, his last message written by 
his dying hand more than a year before, was for the 
first time given to the world. No greater tragedy has 
happened in the Polar world; no sadder fate had over- 
taken one of England's sons since the loss of Sir John 
Franklin, Captain Scott and his companions were dead 
— their fate coming after the success of their achieve- 
ment was all the more pathetic. 

The cable to the New York Times was sent from 
Christchurch, New Zealand, where the ''Terra Nova" 
had anchored, stated: 

She had reached Cape Evans, the station on McMurdo 
Sound on January 18 of the current year, where she 
was to meet the explorers on their return and bring 
them back if they so desired. Here it was learned that 
Captain Scott and his four companions had reached 
the pole just one year before — January 18, 1912, but 
all had perished on the homeward journey the end of 
March. 

A searching party had found their bodies and the rec- 
ords nearly eight months later. In these diaries they 
mentioned finding the tent and records left by Amund- 
sen which had been left there a month before their 
arrival. 

''Before the 'Terra Nova' sailed for New Zealand 
last March," so runs the account, "Surgeon Atkinson, 
who had been left in charge of the Western party until 
Captain Scott's return, despatched Gerrard and De- 
metri with two dog teams to assist the southern party, 
whose return to Hut Point was expected about March 
16, 1912. Atkinson would have accompanied this par- 
ty, but was kept back in medical charge of Lieut. Evans, 
the second in command, who, it will be remembered, 



354 The Seventh Continent 

nearly died from scurvy. 

''This relief party reached One Ton Depot on March 
3, but was compelled to return on March 10, owing pri- 
marily to the dog food running short, also to persistent 
bad weather and the poor condition of the dogs, after 
the strain of a hard season ^s work. The dog teams re- 
turned to Hut Point March 16th, the poor animals be- 
ing mostly frost bitten and incapable of further work. 
Gerrard collapsed through an overstrained heart. His 
companion was also sick. It was impossible to com- 
municate with Cape Evans, the ship having sailed on 
March 4, and the open sea lying between Atkinson and 
Keohane. 

*'The only two men left sledged out to Corner Camp 
to render any help that might be wanted by the south- 
ern party. They fought their way out to Corner Camp 
against the unusually severe weather, and realizing that 
they could be of no assistance, they were forced to re- 
turn to Hut Point after depoting one week's provi- 
sions. 

**In April, when communication with Cape Evans 
was established, a gallant attempt to relieve Lieutenant 
Campbell was made by Atkinson, Wright, Williamson, 
and Keohane. This party reached Butter Point, when 
they were stopped by open water. Their return was 
exciting and nearly ended in disaster, owing to the sea 
ice breaking up. The search party left Cape Evans 
after the winter of Oct. 30 last. The party, which was 
organized by Surgeon Atkinson taking the dog teams 
with Gerrard and Demetri, and Mr. Wright being in 
charge of a party including Wilson, Gran, Lashley, 
Crean, Williamson, Keohane, and Hooper, with seven 
Indian mules. They were provisioned for three months. 



Explorers from Many Lands 355 

as they expected an extended search. One Ton Camp 
was found in order, and all provisioned. 

*' Proceeding along the old southern route, Wright's 
party sighted Capt. Scott's tent on Nov. 12. Within it 
were found the bodies of Captain Scott, Dr. Wilson, and 
Lieut. Bowers. They had saved their records, hard 
pressed as they were." 

From these papers the following information was 
gleaned : 

The first death was that of Seaman Edgar Evans, 
petty officer of the Royal Navy, official number 160,225, 
who died on Feb. 17 at the foot of the Beardmore Gla- 
cier. His death was accelerated by a concussion of the 
brain sustained while travelling over the rough ice some 
time before. 

Captain L. E. G. Gates of the Sixth Inniskillen Dra- 
goons was the next lost. His feet and hands had been 
badly frost bitten from exposure on the march. Al- 
though he struggled on heroically, on March 16 his 
comrades knew that his end was approaching. He had 
bkjrne his intense suffering for weeks without com- 
plaint, and he did not give up hope to the very end. 

Capt. Scott wrote in his diary this tribute to Capt. 
Gates : 

**He was a brave soul. He slept through the night, 
hoping not to wake, but he awoke in the morning. It 
was blowing a blizzard. Gates said: 'I am just going 
outside and may be some time.' He went out into the 
blizzard, and we have not seen him since. ' * 

Another passage read: ''We knew that Gates was 
walking to his death, but, though we tried to dissuade 
him, we knew it was the act of a brave man and an 
English gentleman." 



356 The Seventh Continent 

On March 16 Gates was really unable to travel, but 
the others could not leave him and he would not hold 
them back. After his gallant death, Scott, Wilson and 
Bowers pushed on northward when the abnormally bad 
weather would permit them to proceed. They were 
forced to camp March 1, in latitude 79° 40' South, 
longitude 169° 23' East, eleven miles south of the big 
depot at One Ton Camp. 

This refuge they never reached owing to a blizzard, 
which is known from the records of the party at Cape 
Evans to have lasted nine days, overtaking them. Their 
food and fuel gave out and they succumbed to expo- 
sure. 

In Capt. Scott's diary. Surgeon Atkinson found the 
following which is quoted verbatim: 

''Message to the public: 

''The causes of this disaster are not due to faulty or- 
ganization, but to misfortune in all the risks which had 
to be undertaken. 

"One, the loss of the pony transport in March, 1911, 
obliged me to start later than I had intended and 
obliged the limits of the stuff transported to be nar- 
rowed. The weather throughout the outward journey, 
and especially the long gale in 83 degrees south, stopped 
us. 

"The soft snow in the lower reaches of the Glacier 
again reduced the pace. 

"We fought these untoward events with a will, and 
conquered, but it ate into our provision reserve. 

"Every detail of our food supplies, clothing, and de- 
pots made on the interior ice sheet and on that long 
stretch of 700 miles to the pole and back worked out to 
perfection. 



Explorers from Many Lands 357 

*'The advance party would have returned to the gla- 
cier in fine form and with a surplus of food but for the 
astonishing failure of the man whom we had least ex- 
pected to fail. Seaman Edgar Evans was thought the 
strongest man of the party, and the Beardmore Glacier 
is not difficult in fine weather. But on our return we 
did not get a single complete fine day. This, with a 
sick companion, enormously increased our anxieties. 

**I have said elsewhere that we got into frightfully 
rough ice, and Edgar Evans received a concussion of 
the brain. He died a natural death, but left us a shaken 
party, with the season unduly advanced. 

''But all the facts above enumerated were as noth- 
ing to the surprise which awaited us on the Barrier. I 
maintain that our arrangements for returning were 
quite adequate, and that no one in the world would 
have done better in the weather which we encountered 
at this time of the year. On the summit, in latitude 
85 degrees to 86 degrees, we had minus twenty to minus 
thirty. On the Barrier in latitude 82 degrees, 10,000 
feet lower, we had minus thirty in the day and minus 
forty-seven at night pretty regularly, with continuous 
head winds during our day marches. 

''It is clear that these circumstances came on very 
suddenly, and our wreck is certainly due to this sud- 
den advent of severe weather, which does not seem to 
have had any satisfactory cause. 

"I do not think human beings ever came through 
such a month as we have come through, and we should 
have got through in spite of the weather but for the 
sickness of a second companion, Capt. Oates, and a short- 
age of fuel in our depots, for which I cannot account, 
and, finally, but for the storm which has fallen on us 

I 



358 The Seventh Continent 

within eleven miles of this depot, at which we hoped to 
secure the final supplies. 

' ' Surely misfortune could scarcely have exceeded this 
last blow! We arrived within eleven miles of our old 
One Ton Camp with fuel for one hot meal and food for 
two days. For four days we have been unable to leave 
the tent, the gale blowing about us. We are weak. 

''Writing is difficult, but for my own sake I do not 
regret this journey, which has shown that Englishmen 
can endure hardships, help one another, and meet death 
with as great a fortitude as ever in the past. We took 
risks. We knew we took them. Things have come up 
against us, and therefore we have no cause for com- 
plaint but bow to the will of Providence, determined 
still to do our best to the last. 

' * But if we have been willing to give our lives to this 
enterprise, which is for the honour of our country, I 
appeal to our countrymen to see that those who depend 
on us are properly cared for. Had we lived I should 
have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and 
courage of my companions which would have stirred the 
heart of every Englishman. 

' ' These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the 
tale, but surely, surely a great rich country like ours 
will see that those who are dependent on us are prop- 
erly provided for. 

(Signed) R. Scott.* 

March 25, 1912. 

* Copyright Dodd-Mead S Compawy. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE AUSTRALASIAN EXPEDITION UNDER 
SIR DOUGLAS MAWSON 

THE idea of exploring that great span of Antarc- 
tic coast lying nearest to Australia, bounded by 
Cape Adare on the East and Gausberg on the 
West, germinated in the mind of Sir Douglas Mawson, 
veteran explorer, and leader of the Australasian Ex- 
pedition in the year 1910. 

The January following his provisional plan received 
the sanction and financial support of the Australasian 
Association for the Advancement of Science, at their 
meeting at Sidney, and this together with liberal con- 
tributions from other sources, made possible one of the 
most remarkable and successful Antarctic journeys on 
record. 

Captain John King Davis, Second in Command of the 
Expedition, purchased and re-fitted the *' Aurora'' in 
the spring of 1911, and on December 2nd of that year, 
the Australasian Expedition set sail from Hobart for 
the far South. 

After establishing a base on Macquarie Island the 
ship pushed through the ice and left a party on an un- 
discovered portion of the Antarctic Continent, then 
journeyed fifteen hundred miles to the West of this base 
where another party was landed. 

The purposes of the party stationed at Macquarie 

359 



360 The Seventh Continent 

Island were for the prosecution of general scientific 
investigations, and to co-operate with the Antarctic 
bases in meteorological and other scientific work. The 
party consisted of five men, and was supplied with a 
hut, stores and a complete wireless outfit. 

Macquarie Island is a sub-antarctic possession of the 
Commonwealth, and was a busy station in the days of 
the early sealers but had long since become neglected. 
In fact, little accurate information could be secured re- 
garding it and no reliable map existed. 

The field of scientific discovery was unlimited to the 
men landed at the two bases on the Antarctic Conti- 
nent, for little or nothing was known of the vast re- 
gion that was their goal. Mawson had expected to 
find these latitudes bounded by a rocky and attractive 
coast like that in the vicinity of Cape Adare, but in- 
stead he discovered an austere plateau and ice-fettered 
coast that was evidence of a rigorous and inhospitable 
climate. 

The Main Base was established at Cape Denison, Com- 
monwealth Bay, a land which Mawson describes as so 
overwhelmed with ice that even at sea-level the rock 
was entirely hidden; the temperature could not have 
been colder, and the velocity of the winds which they 
were later to experience would have appalled less cour- 
ageous adventurers. 

After leaving the third party, consisting of Mr. Frank 
Wild and seven companions, the "Aurora" returned 
to Hobart where she refitted and went again to sea for 
the purpose of carrying out oceanographical investiga- 
tions in the waters South of the New Zealand and Ant- 
arctica. 

In December, 1912, the ship returned to the Antarc- 



Australasian Expedition Under Sir Douglas Mawson 361 

tic for the relief of the two parties that had wintered 
there. 

Sir Douglas Mawson not having returned from his 
disastrous sledging journey, on which his companions 
Lieut. B. E. S. Ninnis and Dr. X. Mertz both lost their 
lives, Captain Davis decided to leave five men for an- 
other year to prosecute a search. 

The ''Aurora'* with ten men and the party picked 
up fifteen hundred miles to the West, reached Hobart 
safely the following March. 

The men stationed at Macquarie Island ran short of 
food the second winter, but were relieved by the New 
Zealand Government, which dispatched the "Tutane- 
kai" with necessary stores. 

The "Aurora" set out on her third and last voyage 
South in the summer of 1913, picked up the parties on 
Macquarie Island and in the Antarctic, and after car- 
rying out scientific observations for two months reached 
Adelaide in February, 1914. 

In the vicinity of the Main Base animal life was 
abundant for part of the year including Weddell and 
crab-eater seals, and for a time penguins in large num- 
bers. Giant petrels and skua gulls swarmed in flocks, 
in search of the carcasses of seals or penguins. 

In February of the first year a giant sea elephant was 
secured, measuring seventeen feet six inches in length 
and twelve feet in maximum circumference. 

Mawson comments on the fact that sea elephants are 
sub-antarctic in distribution, and only occasionally have 
these animals been found on the shores of the Antarctic 
continent. 

The continuous winds delayed the contemplated sledg- 
ing journeys for which the men prepared, but scientific 



362 The Seventh Continent 

work continued unremittingly. 

As far as the eye could reach in all directions the 
inland ice was an unbroken plateau. Artificial land- 
marks were established to guide the men back to the 
Hut on their later journeys. 

It would seem that the dominant characteristic of 
Adelie Land is the high velocity of the wind and the 
constant recurrence of severe blizzards. 

The greatest care had to be exercised to secure every- 
thing, nevertheless articles of value would occasionally 
be missed, although often recovered, caught in crevices 
of rock or amongst broken ice. At times the dogs suf- 
fered pitiably during the severe weather, finding shelter 
in the lee of some large object and being completely 
buried in snow. 

For man as well as beast progression in a hurricane 
became a fine art. The smooth, slippery surface of the 
ice offered no grip for the feet, and on emerging from 
the Hut one was apt to be hurled headlong down the 
wind. With crampons firmly fixed upon the feet, the 
equilibrium was maintained by leaning against the 
wind. With a wind that never abated and drifting snow 
that was hurled screaming from hundreds of miles in- 
land to the sea, the * ' Home of the Blizzard ' ' was an apt 
name for the location of the party at the Main Base. 

Mawson gives great credit for the faithful manner 
which those responsible for the tidal, magnetic, and 
meteorological work carried on their work under such 
trying conditions. 

Whenever a lull came, indoor activity ceased, and the 
men would crawl out of the Hut as rapidly as possible 
and busy themselves with some long-standing job. 

The erection of the wireless masts was begun in April, 



Australasian Expedition Under Sir Douglas Mawson 363 

but not until September was this arduous work com- 
pleted. During the following few weeks messages were 
sent out and caught by Macquarie Island, but nothing 
was received at Adelie Land in spite of vigilant watch. 

By the middle of October a terrific wind storm broke 
the wire stays and smashed the poles, putting an end 
to their efforts for this season. 

It was noted that the displays of the aurora on Ade- 
lie Land were more active than in the higher latitudes 
of Ross Sea. 

Continued preparations for sledging parties occupied 
the men indoors and the most careful attention was 
bestowed upon equipment and warm clothing. Sledge 
harness for men and dogs was made of canvas. 

Sir Douglas Mawson used the primus heater for cook- 
ing purposes upon his sledge journeys, the ''Nansen 
Cooker" being the same used by similar expeditions 
and favored by Dr. Nansen himself in his journey across 
Greenland. 

Most careful consideration was given to the subject 
of food not only for the entire expedition but for sledg- 
ing foods, the latter being chosen upon a solid basis of 
dietetics and included per man for one day: plasmon 
biscuit, 12 ounces; pemmican 8 ounces, butter 2 ounces, 
plasmon chocolate 2 ounces, glaxo 5 ounces, sugar 4 
ounces, cocoa 1 ounce, tea, 25 ounces. 

For ordinary fare in the Antarctic Zone Mawson fa- 
vors a well balanced ration of the very best prepared 
foods, and even encourages a variety in the shape of 
favorite luxuries in moderation, mainly for their psycho- 
logical effect. 

Short sledge journeys were taken in August and Sep- 
tember, it being a regulation that no party should go 



364 The Seventh Continent 

farther than fifty miles from the Hut or remain away 
longer than a fortnight. 

By October signs of returning life, in the form of 
penguins, skua gulls, snow petrels and seals, brought 
cheer to the adventurers who celebrated the event with 
a dramatic entertainment. 

Elaborate preparation had been completed for sledge 
parties to be undertaken in November as it was ex- 
pected the "Aurora" would return by January, 1913, 
and such explorations as were possible before that time 
were eagerly looked forward to in spite of adverse 
weather conditions. 

It was on this summer journey Mawson, Mertz and 
Ninnis had their disastrous adventures, which cost the 
lives of the latter two and only by a seeming miracle 
did their leader survive. The territory traveled over in 
the vicinity of Aurora Peak and Mertz Glacier present- 
ed a smooth surface, broken by treacherous crevasses, 
hidden for the most part by deceptive bridges of snow. 

It was the caving of one of these snow bridges that 
precipitated Lieut. Ninnis to his tragic fate, carrying 
with Kim dogs, sledge and provisions. 

The return journey to winter quarters was a series 
of unlooked for trials and tribulations; with lack of 
food and in a depressed and weakened condition Maw- 
son and Mertz stumbled over unseen ridges and hard 
neve, their gaze straining ever forward. 

Starvation faced men and dogs. At intervals it be- 
came necessary to kill a weakened beast and the thin 
carcass was used for soup which was eagerly devoured 
by the men. Christmas Day was celebrated with dog- 
stew and two scraps of biscuits. 

Snow blindness and general weakness added to the 



Australasian Expedition Under Sir Douglas Mawson 365 

depression of the day. 

The first of January found Mertz seriously ailing and 
still about one hundred miles from winter quarters. 
On January 7th he was too weak to advance farther, 
becoming delirious by afternoon, and that night he died. 

Mawson was now left on the boundless plateau of the 
Antarctic Continent alone — weakened by hunger and 
exhaustion and with slight hope of reaching the Hut or 
of rescue by a search party. Making brief notes in his 
diary of the three hundred miles traveled and stating 
his approximate location was in latitude 68° 0' S., longi- 
tude 145° 9' E., Mawson decided to push on in the hope 
that should he meet a like fate, a cairn or cache might 
be noticed by his companions and his diaries be found. 

Laboriously toiling along day after day, growing con- 
stantly weaker, and with little chance of computing the 
direction in which he was traveling, Mawson staggered 
on. The crevasses were the greatest obstacles to overcome 
and on one occasion he fell, hanging suspended from 
his sledge at the end of some fourteen feet of rope. 

His progress was very slow and each day seemed to 
bring him to the end of his strength and resources, but 
his indomitable courage proved sufficient to urge him 
to renewed eifort. 

By January 28th the three thousand foot crest of the 
plateau had been crossed and he was bearing down on 
Commonwealth Bay. The next day he stumbled upon 
a cairn of snow erected by McLean, Hodgeman and 
Hurley, who were out searching for the missing men. 

With food in abundance and a brief rest Mawson im- 
proved and the final lap of his journey, though made 
in the face of a blizzard, was stimulated by the hope 
of soon reaching the Hut and finding the "Aurora" at 



366 The Seventh Continent 

anchor in the Bay. Unfortunately, the ship had set 
sail a few hours before his arrival. 

The reunion of Mawson and those remaining for an- 
other year was a jubilation, and though disappointed at 
the absence of the ' ' Aurora, ' ' preparations for a second 
winter on Adelie Land occupied the energies and good 
spirits of the little band. 

The Southern party, including Bage, Webb, and 
Hurley, after having parted with Dr. Mawson, Ninnis 
and Mertz, on November 10th, had proceeded in the di- 
rection of the Magnetic Pole. The country covered was 
a jumbled mass of sastrugi rising in ridge after ridge 
in seemingly endless procession. This was varied on 
the north side of Mertz Glacier where a smooth valley 
was traversed. It was the purpose of this party to 
proceed inland due South, taking magnetic, geographi- 
cal, meteorological and other observations, with orders 
to return to the Hut not later than January 15th. 

As each day's march brought them closer to the Mag- 
netic Pole they found the magnetic needle quite use- 
less for steering purposes, the sun compass proving it- 
self a more valuable and efficient substitute. 

They encountered severe hurricanes and blizzards but 
were fortunate in escaping accident or disaster, and by 
December 21st they stood at an altitude of five thousand 
nine hundred feet, in latitude 70° 36.5' South and 
longitude 148° 10' East. 

They had now been six weeks on the march and it 
was necessary to turn back. Snow-blindness and ex- 
haustion featured in the return trip, but in spite of 
these discomforts the party made surprisingly good 
time and reached the Hut January 11th. 

The Eastern Coastal party consisted of C. T. Madi- 



Australasian Expedition Under Sir Douglas Mawson 367 

gan, Dr. A. L. McLean, and P. E. Correll, with in- 
structions to ascertain as much as possible of the coast 
lying East of Mertz Glacier, and to make magnetic, 
biological and geological observations; to study the ice 
or snow surfaces, details of sastrugi, topographical fea- 
tures, heights and distances, and meteorology. 

After having traveled about fifty miles to the East- 
ward they beheld a wonderful panorama of sea below, 
and a flat plain of debouching glacier-tongue which 
ebbed away North into a foggy horizon. Farther on 
the view widened and in the foreground could be seen 
low, white, Northern ice cliffs, and in the distant East 
a vague suggestion of land across the bed of the gla- 
cier. 

Ascending Aurora Peak they had a fine view of the 
surrounding country from an altitude of one thousand 
seven hundred and fifty feet. 

On December 17th they approached a huge rocky 
bluff — Horn Bluff — the cliffs rising one thousand feet 
in height, a magnificent and awe-inspiring sight. 

The ** farthest East" was made December 18th, at a 
distance of two hundred and seventy miles from the 
Hut. 

The return was not accomplished without incident and 
the three men found themselves short of rations and 
in an exhausted condition while yet fifty miles from 
the Hut. Madigan was barely able to reach a depot 
where food had been cached, returning with this to the 
others. When sufficiently restored to health they under- 
took the last few miles of their journey. They reached 
the Hut January 14th to find that the ship was in and 
received the first news in a year of the outside world. 
Stillwell's party, known as the ''Near-Eastern Party," 



368 The Seventh Continent 

had meanwhile explored a broad expanse of valley in 
the vicinity of Mount Hunt. 

Bickerman's party spent forty-three days exploring 
to the West and other excursions were made at inter- 
vals from the Main Base. 

On January 13th the '^ Aurora" had dropped anchor 
in Commonwealth Bay and the members of the crew 
received a royal welcome from the men ashore. 

Mawson's instructions had been that all parties should 
return by January 15th. By the 19th all of the sledg- 
ing parties had reported to the Hut except Mawson's, 
which was now a week overdue. Considerable anxiety 
was felt at his prolonged absence and searching parties 
explored the vicinity in vain. 

Captain Davis decided to remain in Commonwealth 
Bay until January 30th, or as long as possible, when 
the *' Aurora" would proceed for Wild's Base. 

It became necessary to plan for a relief party to re- 
main at winter quarters possibly for another year and 
supplies of provisions and coal were landed for this 
purpose. 

Reluctantly Captain Davis set sail February 8th, the 
terrific hurricanes making it dangerous to remain any 
longer in those treacherous waters. 

The Relief Party, with Madigan in command, includ- 
ed Bage, Bickerman, Jeffreys, Hodgeman and McLean. 

On the same night a wireless was received by the 
''Aurora" from the Main Base telling of Mawson's ar- 
rival alone, and ordering the ship to return at once. In 
spite of every effort to reach the Main Base, a hard 
gale prevented the ''Aurora" from anchoring and re- 
luctantly Captain Davis was forced to abandon the hope 
of taking aboard the remaining men at this time. The 



Australasian Expedition Under Sir Douglas Mawson 369 

danger of the ''Aurora" being obliged to winter in these 
latitudes was too great a risk and the only hope of 
reaching Wild's party, fifteen hundred miles distant, 
was to proceed at once. 

The "Aurora" literally ploughed her way through 
the loose pack, reaching the Western Base February 
23rd. 

Wild and his men had begun to prepare for a sec- 
ond winter by laying in a stock of seal meat as they 
feared some catastrophe had overcome the ship. 

The brief summer of Antarctica was over and the 
rapidity with which the winter ice was forming neces- 
sitated a quick run through hundreds of miles of bergs. 

During the previous year Wild and his men had em- 
ployed their time in like manner to the men at the 
Main Base, taking observations and preparing for 
sledge journeys which were undertaken at intervals as 
the season and weather permitted. 

The Main Eastern summer journey had as its object 
the survey of as much coastline as possible and at the 
same time to carry on geographical work, surveying and 
magnetics. With fourteen weeks' provisions Wild's 
Eastern Party made an extraordinary trip in which 
new lands were sighted and formally taken possession 
of in the name of George V and the Australian Com- 
monwealth; later this territory was called Queen Mary 
Land. The total distance covered by this journey was 
two hundred and thirty-seven miles, covering a period 
of seventy days. 

A long trip was made from the Western Depot in 
October, 1912, toward Gausberg, in Kaiser Wilhelm II 
Land, which was discovered by the German Antarctic 
Expedition in 1902. On this successful journey the 



370 The Seventh Continent 

linking up of the intervening country was accomplished. 
Abundance of bird life was noticed on this expedition 
in the vicinity of Haswell Island and the Adelie pen- 
guins were found in great numbers. 

The seven men, including Mawson, left at the Main 
Base, in spite of their disappointment at their failure 
to return to civilization at the end of their first year 
in the Antarctic, spent their time to advantage in con- 
stant and laborious routine incident to their scientific 
studies. 

On February 15th there was a sense of jubilant fel- 
lowship with the outside world when Jeffreys, who was 
in charge of the wireless, announced that he had heard 
Macquarie Island send a coded weather report to Hobart. 
Later in the month ''Good Evening" was exchanged 
with Macquarie Island, and still later a message from 
Mawson was forwarded via Macquarie Island to Lord 
Denman, Governor- General of the Commonwealth, ac- 
quainting him with their situation and loss of their 
comrades. 

News was received at the Main Base of Captain Scott 's 
disaster but no details were given. 

Communication was continued at intervals with Mac- 
quarie Island, this mitigating the deadly monotony of 
the second winter. The general health of the party, 
with one exception, kept surprisingly good, and with 
rest and care the sick man recovered sufficiently to con- 
tinue his share of the work. 

Short sledge journeys were undertaken in favorable 
weather and the months rapidly sped until the glorious 
day of all days, December 12th, when the courageous 
band of men welcomed the sight of the "Aurora" slowly 
but surely coming up the bay to their relief. 



Australasian Expedition Under Sir Douglas Mawson 371 

Perhaps no expedition to the Antarctic Zone has done 
more for the advancement of Science than that of Sir 
Douglas Mawson. The work accomplished by the party 
on Macquarie Island in all lines of natural history was 
as complete as time and conditions permitted, and the 
constant magnetic and meteorological observations have 
been of exceptional value to the maritime world. 

The same credit is due the work accomplished by 
those of the ** Aurora" who traversed a vast expanse 
of sea area, studying tides, currents, and the animal 
and vegetable life in these low latitudes. 



CHAPTER XIX 

shagkleton's latest antarctic expedition 

IN February, 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton presented 
before the Royal Geographical Society of London 
his programme for a new Antarctic Expedition, the 
purpose of which was to cross the South Polar Conti- 
nent from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea. Such a 
journey was a stupendous undertaking but Shackleton 
hoped that from the geographical point of view the 
complete continental nature of the Antarctic might be 
solved. It was the purpose of the expedition to take 
continuous magnetic observations from Weddell Sea 
right across the Pole, and to follow conscientiously all 
branches of science, with the hoped-for result of greatly 
adding to the sum total of human knowledge. 

To carry out his bold project of a trans- Antarctic ex- 
pedition Shackleton had planned to go with his party 
to the coast line on the Weddell Sea, while Captain 
Mackintosh and nine companions were to start from the 
coast of Ross Sea, on the other side of the Pole, and 
meet Shackleton 's party at a point far inland. 

Having received the encouragement and support of 
the scientific world. Sir Ernest left Buenos Aires on 
board the ''Endurance'^ October 25th, 1914, and the 
last word was heard from him in February of the fol- 
lowing year. 

In May, 1916, Shackleton cabled his arrival in the 

372 



Shachleton^s Latest Antarctic Expedition 373 

Falkland Islands, bringing with him an account of his 
failure to reach his destination, through adverse ice con- 
ditions. 

No attempt at a trans- Antarctic journey could be 
made — the '"Endurance" was beset in January, and 
from then on drifted at the mercy of the elements, reach- 
ing the farthest South of 77° in longitude 35° West. 
Then a zig-zag drift was made across Weddell Sea and 
she continued North-West. Intense ice pressure was 
experienced in June when the ridges of ice reached 
the height of twenty feet near the ship, and during 
July they reached twice that height. 

It was not until October, however, that the pressure 
against the hull of the '" Endurance" became too much 
for the ship, and she was finally crushed by the ice, all 
hands abandoned her, taking to boats and sledges, with 
a part of their provisions. 

After a drift Northward for two months, the ice be- 
came strong enough to travel over it and the march 
was pursued through deep snow. 

During the next few months the party lived on the 
ice floes, narrowly escaping death on more than one 
occasion. In April, 1916, the ice suddenly opened be- 
neath them and forced them to take to the open sea in 
boats. They made their way to Elephant Island and 
here they found themselves in such dire straits that Sir 
Ernest with five men in a small boat started for South 
Georgia for assistance. 

This amazing journey, accomplished under such 
hazardous conditions, is one of the most daring and 
heroic feats in Antarctic history. 

After reaching the Falklands, Shackleton made sev^ 
eral unsuccessful attempts to rescue his men left on 



374 The Seventh Continent 

Elephant Island. 

The first was made from South Georgia on May 23rd 
in a whaling vessel furnished by a Norwegian whaling 
station. 

The boat could not penetrate the pack ice and was 
obliged to return to the Falkland Islands, reaching Port 
Stanley on May 31st. 

On the 8th of June a second attempt was made in the 
steamer ^'Instituto Pesca" of the Uruguayan Bureau 
of Fisheries which left Montevideo, stopping en route 
at Port Stanley, June 17th, to pick up Shackleton. It 
was found impossible to reach Elephant Island because 
of the ice and the trip was abandoned June 25th. The 
ship had approached to within twenty miles of the 
Island, and it was ascertained that penguins abounded 
in the vicinity, giving reasonable assurance that the men 
would be able to subsist until help came, although when 
their leader had left them they had only five weeks' ra- 
tions. 

Shackleton 's third attempt was made July 13th, when 
he set sail from Punta Arenas on the schooner ' ' Emma. ' ' 
The schooner was forced back by the terrific gales and 
ice fields; with engines injured and a battered hull she 
returned to the Falkland Islands on August 4th. 

Undaunted by repeated failures, worn in body and 
mind from exhaustion and anxiety, this heroic explorer 
renewed every effort to rescue the twenty-one marooned 
men whose trust in him had never wavered, and again 
set out upon his quest. 

The fourth and successful journey was made from 
Punta Arenas, where Sir Ernest chartered a steamer 
and finally reached his men, when they had all but 
given up hope of rescue. 



Shackleton^s Latest Antarctic Expedition 375 

The party had endured many hardships during the 
absence of Shackleton. The island was beset by a dense 
ice pack soon after his departure, and the little band 
of stranded men were confined to a narrow spit of land 
250 yards long and 40 wide, surrounded by inaccessi- 
ble cliffs and ice-laden seas. 

They constructed a shelter from their two boats sup- 
ported by rocks, and as far as possible from the sea. 
In spite of this precaution the heavy gales threatened 
to blow the shelter and the men themselves into the 
ocean, and had it not been for the ice foot which formed 
on the sea shore, and which offered some protection, 
the party would have suffered total destruction. 

To add to their precarious situation, an adjacent gla- 
cier calved on several occasions, throwing up heavy 
waves and huge blocks of ice which were hurled to 
within fifteen feet of their miserable hut. 

The indomitable Frank Wild, whose long experience 
in the Antarctic had made him a man of unlimited re- 
source, immediately prepared for insuring a sufficient 
food supply. At first only one meal a day was allowed, 
but having secured a reserve of blubber this was in- 
creased. 

The meat supply was very low but was increased by 
small penguins. Later seaweed and limpets were added 
to this diet. 

When Shackleton had left his men he had told them 
he would return, and he simply did that, in spite of 
the most disheartening and hopeless failures. 

So great was the faith of his men in the indomitable 
courage and persistence of their leader that Frank Wild 
would say to them each day — ''Boys roll up your sleep- 
ing bags, the 'boss' may come at any moment." 



376 The Seventh Continent 

Disaster had likewise pursued Captain Mackintosh 
and his party. The '* Aurora," in which he had sailed, 
broke away in a blizzard off Ross Barrier, leaving Mac- 
intosh and his men stranded on shore. 

The ship drifted to New Zealand, where she was re- 
paired and Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed in her to the 
final rescue of the remaining band of adventurous men. 

In their isolation of twenty months three of their 
number had died, including Captain Mackintosh, the 
leader, A. P. Spencer Smith, and Victor G. Hayward. 

Part of the program of the Ross Sea party had been 
to lay depots on the Ross barrier ice, for the use of 
the Shackleton party when it came down from the Ant- 
arctic plateau. 

This they did, in spite of their abandonment, the last 
depot being made in October, at Mount Hope (831/^ S.), 
at the foot of Beardman Glacier. 

This had been one of Captain Scott's depots, and 
two of his sledges were found. On the return journey 
made in the month of January the party suffered from 
scurvy. The Rev. Spencer Smith became so helpless 
that he was obliged to lie on a sledge in a sleeping bag. 

When only eleven miles from Bluff depot they were 
overtaken by a blizzard which necessitated their camp- 
ing for six days. Their provisions were now practi- 
cally exhausted and on February 23, the party started 
in the face of a blinding storm to attempt to reach the 
depot. 

Captain Mackintosh, having reached the limit of his 
endurance, fell ill and together with Smith, was left 
in charge of a comrade, while the others pressed on. 

It now devolved upon Joyce, Richards and Hayward, 
with four starving dogs, to secure the much needed 



Shackleton^s Latest Antarctic Expedition 377 

relief. 

This they managed to accomplish in spite of Hay- 
ward 's giving out, and having returned with food and 
oil to the helpless men left behind, the entire party 
once more started toward their base. For a time sails 
rigged to the sledge helped their advance, but the wind 
having died down they found themselves unable to pull 
the sledges burdened by the sick men. 

Mackintosh, appreciating the gravity of their situa- 
tion, unselfishly decided to remain behind while the 
others pushed on. He was left in a tent with three 
weeks' provisions. 

The party had a distance of forty miles to cover, all 
were in a weakened condition and Spencer Smith died 
March 9, after having been ill forty-seven days. 

At Hut Point, situated on the southwestern corner of 
Ross Island, fresh meat and dried vegetables were pro- 
cured March 11th. Three days later Joyce, Richards 
and Wild started back to get Mackintosh, and by March 
18th all were safe at Hut Point. 

Having survived the trials of the 800-mile journey 
to the foot of Beardmore Glacier and back. Mackin- 
tosh and Hay ward lost their lives on a short 15-mile 
journey across the sea ice from Hut Point to Cape 
Evans. 

May 8, 1916, they left camp in fine weather, but a 
blinding storm overtook them. 

"When their anxious companions started after them, 
they found their tracks terminated abruptly in open 
water. The influence of the blizzard had broken the 
young ice under their feet and thus they met a tragic 
fate. 

Though at every turn disaster and misfortune fol- 



378 The Seventh Continent 

lowed Shackleton's last expedition to Antarctica, the 
indomitable courage, heroism, and faith exhibited by- 
leader and men will ever stand in this story of failure'* 
as an example to all and stir the heart with the deepest 
admiration and enthusiEism. 



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380 Bibliography 

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INDEX 



Abbott, 332 

*^ Active/' 196, 207, 209, 213 

Adams, Lieutenant J. B., 290, 

294, 296, 310 
** Adventure,'' 50, 51, 54, 56, 

63 
Alexander VI, 11 
Alozo, Martin, 12 
Alvarez, 14 
Amundsen, Koald, 9, 219, 332, 

337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 345 
Anderson, Dr., 266, 278, 281 
Andrew of Bristol, 14 
*' Anna wan," 79 
''Antarctic," 218, 265, 266, 

268, 269, 277, 278, 281 
''Argo," 21 
Armitage, Lieutenant Albert, 

241, 242, 260, 306 
"Astrolabe," 112, 113, 116, 

118, 127 
Atkinson, 334, 353, 354, 359 
''Atrexoida," 70 
Attwaye, Captain, 179 
''Aurora," 70, 350, 351, 352, 

359, 361, 364, 365, 366, 368, 

369, 370, 376 

Bage, 368 

"Balaena," 196, 197, 199, 207, 

215 
Balboa, Vasco Nunez de, 23 
Balch, Edwin, 60, 79, 146 
Balleny, John, 105, 106, 125 
Barne, Lieutenant, 241, 257 
Bates, 332, 334 
"Beaufort," 88 
"Belgia," 218, 219, 220, 222, 

224 
Beinngshausen, 76, 90, 91 



"Benedict," 23 

Bernacchi, Mr. Louis, 225, 226, 

228, 232, 233, 237, 239, 242 
Bickerman, 368 
Bidlingmaier, Dr. Frederick, 

263 
Binstead, Lieutenant, 110 
Biscoe, John, 79, 80, 106, 107, 

108, 109, 110, 135 
Bjaaland, 341 
Borchgrevink, Mr. C. E., 224, 

228, 242 
Bouvet, M. des Lozier, 37, 38, 

52 
Bowers, Lieut., 332, 334, 336, 

355, 356 
Branfield, Edward, 88 
Brisbane, Mathew, 88 
Brocklehurst, Sir Philip, 290, 

296, 297, 300, 306, 307 
Brown, Captain James, 80, 105 
Brown, Mr. E. N., 282 
Browning, 332 
Bruce, Dr. William, 282, 350, 

351 
Byron, 42 

Campbell, Lieut., 332, 354 
Carder, Peter, 29 
Carteret, 42, 56 
"Castor," 212 
"Challenger," 180, 181, 182, 

183, 188, 189, 192, 193, 194, 

196 
"Chanticleer," 78, 93 
Charcot, Dr. Jean B., 283, 285, 

286, 287 
Cherry, 332 
"Christopher," 22 
Chun, Prof. Carl, 224 



383 



384 



Index 



Gierke, 64 

Clesmeur, Chevalier de, 38 
Coats, Captain Andrew, 282 
Coats, Mr. James, 282 
''Coquille,'' 112 
Colbeck, Lieut., 239 
Colnett, Captain, 198, 199 
Columbus, 11, 12, 13 
Colvoccorresses, Lieut., 147 
' ' Concepcion/ ' 13, 16 
Cook, Captain James, 40, 41, 
42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 
49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 
57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 
65, 66, 67, 68, 89, 91, 102, 
107, 131, 132, 176, 199 
Correll, K. C, 367 
Cowley, Captain, 35 
Crean, 332, 334, 358 
Crozier, Captain Francis, Eow- 
don, 154, 195, 196, 205 

Dallman, Captain, 179 
Dalrymple, Alexander, 39, 40, 

57, 58 
Banco, Lieutenant, 221 
Darwin, Sir George, 347 
David, Prof. T. W., 290, 303, 

352 
Davidson, Captain, 207 
Davis, Captain John King, 306, 

350, 352, 359, 361, 368 
Demetri, 353, 354 
Desbois, 112 
De Lope, 24 
De Solis, 13, 23 
''Diana,'' 196, 209 
Diaz, Bartholomew, 10 
Dickerson, 332 
''Discovery," 241, 242, 243, 

244, 246, 261, 289, 309 
"Dolores," 70 
Doughty, Thomas, 25 
"Dove," 90 
Drake, Sir Francis, 21, 22, 23, 

24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31, 36 
Du Bouzet, 112, 127 
Duperrey, Captain, 112 
D 'Urville, Captain Dumont, 

112, 113, 114, 117, 118, 



119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 
126, 128, 136, 154, 157, 175, 
194, 204, 351 
Duse, 277, 278 

"Eagle," 41 
"Eendracht," 34 
"Eliza," 90 
"Eliza Scott," 105 
"Elizabeth," 22, 23, 28 
Queen Elizabeth, 21, 22, 29, 31 
"Emma," 374 
"Endeavor," 43, 45, 46, 47, 

49 
Enderby, 79 

"Endurance," 372, 373 
"Erebus," 154, 168, 169, 170, 

195 
Evans, Captain Edgar, 307, 

334, 335, 336, 353, 355, 357 
Evenson, Captain, 212 

Fanning, Edmund, 71, 72, 73, 

74, 75, 76, 80, 81, 95, 96, 

98, 99, 100, 104 
Fanning, William A., 71 
Fernandez, Juan, 32, 57 
Filchner, 346, 347, 348, 349 
Fitzroy, 113 

"Flying Fish," 130, 131, 132 
Foster, Captain Henry, 78, 93, 

106, 178 
Fourneauz, Captain, 51, 55 
Foxton, Mr., 110 
"Fram," 332, 337, 345 
Franklin, Sir John, 154, 157, 

166, 167, 195, 196, 353 
"Freelove," 41 
Fresne, Captain du, 38 

"Gauss," 263, 264 

Gerlache, Lieut. Adrien de, 

218, 222, 223 
Gerrard, 332, 334, 353, 354 
Gherritz, 33, 71, 73 
"Golden Hind," 27, 28, 30 
Gonneville, Sier de, 37 
Gourdon, M., 283 
Gracia, Nimo, 15 
Graham, Sir James R. G., 80 



Index 



385 



Grain, 332 

♦'Grampus/' 42 

Gran, 354 

Greely, General, 71, 74, 79, 80, 

136, 193 
''Greenland," 179 
Grunder, 278 
Guillemard, 19 
Guyot, 38 

Halley, 36 

Hamer, Captain, 41 

Hamilton, Sir E. V., 87 

Hansen, 340, 341 

Hanson, Nicolai, 238 

Harmsworth, Mr. A. C. (Lord 

Northcliffe), 241 
Hartwig, 92, 95 
Hawkesworth, 39 
Hays, M., 37 
Hayward, Victor G., 376 
Heard, Captain J. J., 178, 185 
"Henry," 104, 105 
Henry, Midshipman Wilkes, 

147, 148, 149, 150 
' ' Herald of the Morning, ' ' 179 
"Hero," 74, 75, 91 
"Hersilia," 71, 73, 74 
"Hertha," 212 
Hodgeman, 365, 368 
Hooper, 354 
"Hope," 71 
"Hopewell," 110 
Hurley, 369 
Hutton, Captain, 179 

"Institute Pesca," 374 
Irizar, Captain, 279 

Jacquinot, Captain, 112, 114 

"Jane," 88 

"Jason," 211, 212, 216 

Jeffreys, 368, 370 

Johnson, Captain Kobert, 87, 

104, 349 
Joyce, 376, 377 

" Kainan-maru, " 344 

Kemp, 105 

Kendall, Lieutenant, 51, 93 



Keohaue, 334, 335, 354 
Kertoge, Theodoric, 34 
King, Captain, 113 
Klovstad, Dr., 238 
Keottlitz, Dr., 242 
Konig, Dr., 348 
"Koonya," 307 
Krech, Captain, 224 

' ' La Dauphine, ' ' 39 

"La Fortune," 38 

"L'Aigle," 37 

"Le Marie," 37 

La Eoche, 58, 198 

Larsen, Captain C. A., 211, 

212, 266, 269, 276, 278, 280, 

281, 348 
Lashley, 354 

"Le Francais," 283, 285, 286 
"Le Gros Ventre," 38 
Le Maire, 34 
"Leon," 38 
"LeEoland," 38 
Levicki, 332 

"Lincluden Castle," 179 
"Lively," 108, 109 
"L'Oiseau," 38 
Longstaff, Mr. L. W., 241 
Lowe, 91 

Mackay, Dr. Forbes, 290, 295, 

296, 298, 303, 304, 305, 307, 
326 

Mackintosh, Captain, 308, 326, 

376, 377 
Macy, Eichard, 70 
Madigan, C. T., 371 
Magellan, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 

21, 23, 25, 69 
Mahn, Admiral Jaques, 34 
"Marie," 196 
"Marigold," 22, 27 
Marion, M., 52 
Markham, Sir Clements, 176, 

240, 241 
Marshall, Dr. E., 290, 296, 

297, 323, 326 
Matha, Lieutenant, 283 
Mawson, Sir Douglas, 290, 301, 

303, 304, 305, 306, 346, 347, 



386 



Index 



350, 351, 352, 360, 363, 364, 

365, 368, 370 
McCormick, Dr. E., 154, 158, 

159, 161, 162, 164, 167, 170, 

173, 174 
McDonald, Captain, 179 
McGillan, 308, 326 
McLean, Dr. A. L., 365, 367, 

368 
Mendana, 33 
*' Mercury," 42 
Mertz, Dr., 352, 361, 364 
Meumayer, Prof., 240 
^'Moltke,'^ 196 
Montravel, Tardy de, 112 
Moore, Lieut. T. L., 178 
*' Morning," 261, 262 
Morrell, 87, 349 
Mossman, Mr. E. C, 282, 283, 

348 
Murdock, Mr. Burn, 197, 199, 

204, 205, 206, 207, 209, 211, 

213, 215, 216 
Murdock, Lieutenant, 261 
Murray, Sir John, 193, 290 

Nansen, 253, 254, 338, 339, 

363 
Nares, Captain George S., 180 
Neumayer, 263 
Newnes, Sir George, 225 
Ninnis, Lieut. B. C. S., 352, 

361, 364 
^'Nimrod," 350 
Nordenskjold, Dr. N. Otto G., 

265, 266, 268, 269, 270, 272, 

274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 280, 

347 
Normura, Captain, 345 

Gates, Captain, 336, 355, 356, 

357 
''Otter," 71 

"Pacific," 80, 81, 82 
"Pagoda," 178 
Palliser, Sir Hugh, 42 
Palmer, Captain Nathaniel 

Brown, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 

§0^ 87^ 90, 91, 194 



"Paramour," 36 

Parry, 89 

"Peacock," 130, 131, 135, 

146, 147, 150 
Peary, 342 

Pedersen, Captain Morten, 212 
"Pelican," 22 
Penck, Dr., 347, 348 
Pendleton, Benjamin, 74, 75, 

76, 83, 84, 86, 87 
"Penguin," 78 
Perigot, 112 
Philippi, Dr. Emil, 263 
Pigafeeta, 16, 17, 19, 20 
Pinzon, Vincent Yanez, 12 
Pirie, Dr. J. H. H., 282 
Pitcher, William, 29 
Pleneau, Engineer, 283 
"Polar Star," 196, 214 
"Porpoise," 132, 134 
"Pourquoi Pas," 286, 287 
Powell, Captain George, 90, 

122 
Priestly, E., 290, 382 
Prince Henry the Navigator, 

10 
"Princess," 70 
Pringle, Sir John, 61 

Queros, Pedro Fernandez de, 34, 
49,43 

"Eattler," 198 

Eea, Lieut., 110 

Eees, Captain, 179 

"Eelief," 130, 131, 132 

Eey, Ensign, 283 

Eeynolds, J. N., 78, 79, 103 

Eichards, 376 

Eoggeveen, Admiral Jacob, 36 

"Eose," 110 

Eoss, Captain J. C, 110, 135, 
154, 157, 158, 159, 161, 162, 
167, 169, 173, 174, 175, 176, 
177, 180, 194, 195, 204, 205, 
206, 209, 242, 243, 244, 245, 
269, 327, 349 

Eoyds, Lieut., 241 

Euserj, Captain Hans, 26?^ 



Index 



387 



' * Samarang, " 179 

''San Antonio," 13, 16 

''Santiago," 13 

Saunders, Sir Charles, 42 

Sehoulen, 34 

Schrader, Dr. K., 196 

"Scotia," 282, 283 

Scott, Captain Eobert F., 9, 
241, 242, 243, 244, 249, 251, 
253, 257, 258, 260, 261, 262, 
310, 313, 330, 331, 332, 333, 
334, 335, 336, 352, 353, 355, 
356 

"Sea Gull," 130, 132 

"Seraph," 79 

Shackleton, Sir Ernest, 241, 
257, 259, 261, 288, 295, 300, 
309, 311, 313, 315, 316, 318, 
320, 323, 327, 339, 340, 341, 
343, 372, 373, 374, 375, 376, 
377 

Sharp, Captain Bartholomew, 
34 

SheflBeld, Captain James P., 71 

Shelrocke, Captain, 35 

Shirase, Lieut., 343, 344, 356 

Siminow, 91 

Skelton, Engineer Lieut., 241, 
260 

Smiley, Captain William H., 
177 

Smith, Captain, 73 

Smith, A. P. Spencer, 376 

"Snow Swan," 70 

Sobral, Lieut., 275, 277 

"Southern Cross," 224, 225, 
230, 239 

"Southern Pioneer," 344, 346 

Spry, William J. H., 181, 184 

Stillwell, 367 

Swain, Captain, 70 

"Swan," 22 

Tasman, Abel, 34, 65, 66 
"Terra Nova," 262, 330, 33], 

332, 334, 337, 353 
"Terror," 154, 165, 167, 168, 

170, 172, 173, 195, 205 
"Tierra Austral," 34 



Tongner, Mr., 232 

Tremarec, Captain Yves T. de 

Kerguelin, 38 
"Trinidad," 13 
Turquet, M., 283 
Turneauz, Captain, 51, 55, 65 

Underwood, Lieut. J. A., 147, 

148, 149, 150 
"Urdine," 348 
"Uruguay," 279, 280 

"Valdivia," 224 
Verne, 106, 107, 110, 112, 118 
Vespucius, Americus, 13 
Villiers de L'Isle Adam, 19 
"Vincennes," 130, 134, 138, 

150, 157, 163 
"Victoria," 13 
"Volunteer," 71 

Von Drygalski, Erick, 263, 

264, 265 
Von Hoffen, Prof., 263 

Wallis, 42 

"Wasp," 87 

Webster, Dr., 78 

Weddell, James, 88, 89, 90, 349 

Wild, Frank, 360, 369, 374, 

377 
Wild, Dr. Marshall, 310, 316, 

321 
Wilkes, Captain Charles, 60, 

110, 130, 131, 133, 135, 136, 

138, 141, 143, 145, 146, 150, 

151, 152, 153, 154, 157, 175, 
193, 194 

"William," 73, 88 

Williamson, 354 

Wilson, Dr. E. A., 257, 334, 

336. 356 
Wilson, 354, 355 
Winter, Captain, 27 
Wisting, 341 
Wolfe, General, 42 
Wright, 334 
"Zelee," 112, 113, 118, 119, 

125 



